Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Pumpkin and Snickerdoodles, a match made in heaven. I've seen different versions of this cookie on various blogs, but the reviews were mixed. Some said they were too dry, others said not enough spice. I thought they didn't use enough pumpkin! So here is my soft, pillowy, spicy version of pumpkin Snickerdoodles.

Makes 3 1/2 dozen

1 C. Butter-unsalted and softened

1 C Evaporated Cane Sugar

1/2 C Rapadura Sugar (or brown sugar)

1 C Pumpkin Purée

1 Egg

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

3 3/4 C Whole White Wheat Flour

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Sea Salt

1 tsp Cinnamon 

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

For the coating:

1/4 C Evaporated Cane Sugar

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Nutmeg

Dash Cloves

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, sea salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. 

In a large bowl beat together butter and sugars, then add pumpkin and vanilla finally add egg. Mix flour mixture into wet ingredients. 

*Side note, I did this all by hand and it turned out great. I think people have a tendency to over mix cookie dough and the cookies turn out tough.*  

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl combine remaining 1/4 C sugar and spices. Set aside. Either using a cookie scoop or teaspoons portion out equal size balls of dough, rolling into a smooth ball and coating in spiced sugar mixture. 

Place sugared balls of dough on baking sheet (don't worry about spacing, they are going into the fridge to chill out). When all dough has been used place cookie sheet in fridge for about an hour. Alternately, you can put the tray of dough into the freezer until dough becomes hard, then place cookie dough in a freezer bag to use at a later date or just bake a few at a time for portion control. I usually start putting cookie dough in the freezer a few months before christmas to take some of the stress out of holiday baking. All I have to do is bake the dough!

Preheat oven to 350. Place 12 balls of dough onto parchment or silpat lined baking sheet 

and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. 

Bake 15-18 minutes

Grandma Ruth’s Gluten Free Spice Cake

Ok, Grandma Ruth wasn't baking Gluten Free Cakes in her day, but she did make a mean Spice Cake. The original recipe was made yearly for my Mom and my Aunts Birthdays and I adapted it years ago for a customers Birthday. I actually just made this cake for that same customers Anniversary. I'll never forget the panicked phone call I received that day asking if I had forgotten this cake needed to be gluten free because there was no way a gluten free cake could taste this good. It comes out so light, moist and grit free (no rice flour!) you won't believe its gluten free.

          

  Serves 8-10

¾ C Butter Softened

1 ¼ C Brown Sugar (I use Rapadura)

1 C. Unrefined Cane Sugar

3 Eggs

3 C. Bobs Red Mill GF Flour Blend

1 ½ tsp Xanathan Gum

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 ½ tsp Cinnamon

¾ tsp Cloves

¾ tsp Nutmeg

1 tsp Sea Salt

1 ½ C. Whole Milk

1 Tbs Lemon Juice

Preheat oven to 350. Grease either 3 rounds or one 9”x13” pan. In a large bowl beat together Butter and Sugars, add Eggs one at a time. Meanwhile add Lemon Juice to Milk to curdle, let sit 10 minutes. In a medium bowl mix together Flour Blend, Xanathan Gum, Baking Soda, Spices and Sea Salt. Add 1/3 of flour mixture to wet mixture, stir to combine then add 1/3 of Milk combine, continue mixing in the alternating flour mixture and milk.

 Divide Cake batter between 3 Rounds or pour all into 9x13 pan. Bake rounds 30-35 minutes or 9x13 45-50 minutes.

For Frosting

1lb Cream Cheese-softened

4 oz Butter-softened

1 tsp GF Vanilla

1 LB Powdered Sugar

In a large bowl beat together cream cheese, butter and vanilla. Slowly add in powdered sugar until desired consistency and sweetness is achieved.

***Recipe may be halved if making the 9x13 pan***

Moist Chocolate Cake

I'm not above going for the sweet stuff when I'm really stressed out and recently I had to call in the big guns... Chocolate Cake. So after much inner conflict (if I bake this I will probably eat the whole thing, yada, yada, yada) I assembled my ingredients and realized I was out of sugar! But all was not lost, thank goodness I had some agave nectar! Forty-five minutes later I had the endorphin shot I needed. Sure I could have exercised, but sometimes a girl just needs chocolate cake.

1 1/3 C Agave Nectar

2 Eggs

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 C Whole Milk

1/2 C Melted Butter

1 3/4 C Flour

1 C Cocoa Powder

1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

2/3 C Hot Coffee  

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 13x9 pan with cooking spray (this is a chocolate emergency, there is no time for fancy round layers!). In a large bowl mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder, set aside. In another large bowl beat together egg, melted butter, agave nectar and vanilla. Mix milk into wet ingredients until thouroghly incorporated. Stir dry ingredient into wet until just incorporated then add hot coffee and mix until no lumps remain.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. This cake baked pretty quickly, great for a chocolate emergency! I did throw together a quick frosting of cream cheese, cocoa powder, powdered sugar and vanilla. 

Frosting:

8 oz Cream Cheese

1/2 C Cocoa Powder*

1C Powdered Sugar*

1 tsp vanilla

*ingredients are approximate 

In a large bowl beat together all ingredients with a mixer. I like frosting to not be so sickly sweet so I add a lot of cocoa powder to thicken it but you could reduce the amount of cocoa powder and add more sugar. This is just a simple eating frosting, not something you would decorate with.

Salted Maple Cashew Crispy Treats

Who doesn't love rice crispy treats. Back in the day I used to walk to the gas station by my office and buy them at least once a week. It shames me to think I bought "food" at the gas station. Since turning my life in a healthier direction one thing I've shunned is marshmallows (and gas station food) because of the ingredients and unfortunately that included my beloved rice crispy treats. I had forgotten about my obsession until recently when I came across a recipe for a healthier version, so I tried it and it was sooo sweet. I felt there had to be a better way and I wanted to put a bit of a gourmet twist on it.

Ingredients:

3 C Crispy Brown Rice Cereal

1/2 C Cashew Butter, unsweetened/ unsalted

1/2 C Maple Syrup

1/2 tsp Sea Salt

Oil or Butter for Pan

In a Large bowl, measure 3 cups of Crispy Brown Rice Cereal.

Grease 8x8 pan, set aside. In a small saucepan combine cashew butter, maple syrup and sea salt. 

Cook over medium low heat until combined and slightly thick.

Pour into Crispy Brown Rice Cereal. Stir until cereal is completely coated and clumps together.

Pour cereal into pan and gently press into pan with a spatula.

Chill in fridge for 30 minutes then cut into squares.

Agave Sweetened Butter Pecan Pie

We have cleaned up the ingredients of this Butter Pecan Pie by removing the corn syrup and replacing it with agave nectar. Before you go all crazy on me by telling me that Agave Nectar is just as bad as corn syrup let me get in two points.
1. Yes Agave Nectar is Fructose (that’s why it works in this and my peanut brittle recipe to be shared in December) but depending on HOW it’s processed it can be lower glycemic
2. Agave Nectar is Non-GMO and doesn’t contain all the icky stuff used to process corn syrup.
Why do you need a fructose component in pecan pie?
If you ever made Rock Candy as a child you know that sugar molecules fight through liquid to bond to each other. When they push out liquid they stick to each other and crystallize. Fructose butts in between the sugar molecules to keep them apart, preventing crystallization. So here we use Agave Nectar as the fructose to keep the sugar from crystallizing.

Say bye-bye to runny pecan pie!
If you ever have had runny pecan pie, or burnt your crust trying to get your filling set up, here is the secret. Cook the filling first! By pre-cooking the filling, your pie crust and filling will finish together is glorious harmony.

Agave Sweetened Butter Pecan Pie

1 pie crust (try our Easy as Pie Crust!)
1 ½ cups Pecans (halves and pieces) plus 1 ½ C pecan halves for top
1 cup Rapadura sugar
1 cup Agave nectar
1/2 cup unsalted Butter
1 tablespoon All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
3 Eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon Vanilla

To prepare the filling: Preheat the oven to 425°. Combine the pecans, rapadura sugar, agave nectar, butter, flour and salt in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Cool 15 minutes.

Whisk the eggs and vanilla into the filling. Pour the filling into the pie shell. Place reserved pecan halves on top.

Bake 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°. Bake until the custard has set and a knife inserted in the center comes out cleanly, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool for at least 45 minutes.

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie Variation 

Make as above but replace flour with 3 Tbs Cocoa powder and add 3 Tbs Bourbon in with egg and vanilla. Bake same as above. 

This was a huge hit at Thanksgiving. By using cocoa powder instead of chocolate chips like other recipes you have chocolate throughout the pie instead of glopy chocolate at the bottom of the pie and the cocoa powder cuts the sweetness of the pecan pie a bit!

* for 2014 I used Cognac instead of Bourbon and omitted the vanilla, I think it was even better!

Pumpkin Crumble Bars

This recipe falls under” the healthier because I made it” category. This time of year I am on a quest for all things pumpkin and am tempted by the pumpkin-flavored-everything commercials. I like knowing that if I am going to indulge that I am eating quality ingredients. I also love the way my house smells when I bake, its better than any $10 candle (and tastier too). These bars have a soft pumpkin pie filling surrounded by a crunchy, crumbly crust.

Pumpkin Crumble Bars

For the Crust & Crumble
3 C. Rolled Oats
1 3/4 C Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1 1/2 C Rapadura Sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 C plus 2 Tbs Unsalted Butter- Softened
1 C. Chopped Pecans or Walnuts- optional
(after I made these BJ told me, "You know what would make these even better? Nuts.")

For Filling
15 oz of Pumpkin Puree
3 eggs
3/4 C Heavy Cream
1/2 C Rapadura Sugar
1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
(or 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg and 1/8 tsp cloves)
1 tsp vanilla


Preheat oven to 375. Line a 13x9 pan with parchment paper, set aside. In a large bowl mix together crust ingredients with your hands (if you have a little one have them help you with this) until it resembles pebbles.


Pull out 2 cups of Crumble mixture, set aside. Press remaining Crumble Mixture into bottom of pan, bake for 10 minutes.

(He thinks he’s helping!)

While that’s baking, in a large bowl mix together pumpkin, eggs, cream, sugar, spices and vanilla. Pour over baked crust. Return to oven for 15 minutes.

When pumpkin layer is somewhat set,

sprinkle remaining crumble over top. Return to oven and bake 20 additional minutes.


You can either cool and cut into bars or hover over it fresh out of the oven and eat it by the spoonful! Also would be good with fresh whipped cream (isn’t everything).

Stevia Sweetened Pumpkin Bread

The other day I received a call from a customer asking how she should bake a pumpkin bread with stevia. I was embarrassed that I could not give her a good answer. After a few failed attempts to make a sugar free black bean brownie I had given up on baking with stevia. After a little digging online I found a good looking conversion method for stevia which I shared with her. She was afraid to make something that wouldn’t turn out so she scrapped the idea. In my typical fashion I announced to my husband the next morning (he was barely awake) that after laying awake I had decided “ Today I will make a stevia sweetened pumpkin bread!” Those of you familiar with stevia know it can have an after taste. This bread does seem to lose it a bit overnight, so it is better the next day. I think the texture and taste of this bread out weigh the stevia taste and kept me coming back for more.

Stevia Sweetened Pumpkin Bread
Makes 6 Mini Loaves or 2 9x3 loaves

15 oz Canned Pumpkin
1 C Unsweetened Applesauce
1 1/2 TBS Liquid Stevia (I used Caramel Flavored for something fun)
1/2 C Sunflower Oil
4 Eggs
2/3 C Almond Milk
3 1/2 C Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
2 tsp Baking Soda
2 1/2 Tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
or 1 tsp cinnamon, t tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp cloves 1/4 tsp ginger

Preheat Oven to 350. Grease loaf pans, set aside. In a large bowl mix together pumpkin, applesauce, stevia, oil, and eggs. Next mix milk into pumpkin mixture. In a separate smaller bowl mix together flour, baking soda and spices. Add dry mixture to wet and stir until just combined. Divide batter evenly into pans.

(My Little Helper)
Bake small loaves for 30 minutes and large loaves 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

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