Showing posts with label Dairy-Free. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dairy-Free. Show all posts

Monday, March 25, 2013

Poppy Seed Bread with Lemon-Honey Glaze (Dairy-Free)



The north wind howls around the corner of the house:  winter's stubborn icy grip has our early springtime under siege.

Scrubbing the dinner dishes tonight, I stared glumly out the kitchen window, noticing that my daffodils are doing perfect downward-facing-dogs into the snow and mud.   And this wind is causing strange things to happen to the falling snowflakes: I can watch a single flake quickly dart toward the ground, then sail upward, slowly spiral toward me, then violently crash into the window pane.  Very odd indeed.

I believe I've ingested more tea and coffee this winter than ever before.  On it's own, that wouldn't be so bad, but it seems my afternoon teatime habit is usually accompanied by a baked good. 
Like a slice or two of this moist Lemon Poppy Seed Bread.

(This may sound strange, but you can omit the poppyseeds if necessary.  I personally love the texture and color the seeds lend to the bread, my kids weren't wild about them.  Besides, poppyseeds aren't a common pantry item.  And I think the bread would be great without them.)

Due to our littlest guy's recent tummy issues, we've been inching toward becoming dairy free. In this bread recipe, I used coconut oil and milk for the butter and regular milk.  I also used maple syrup and honey in place of the sugar.  

Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread with Lemon-Honey Glaze (Dairy-Free)
Makes (1) 8x4-inch loaf

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons poppyseeds
3/4 cup softened coconut oil (substitute same amount of butter, if desired)
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup maple syrup
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Juice of 1 large lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
1/8 cup coconut milk (substitute regular milk, if desired)

Glaze:
1/4 cup honey
Zest of 1 large lemon
Juice of 1 large lemon (about 3 tablespoons lemon juice)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Place an oven rack in the center of the oven.  Prepare the loaf pan by coating with softened coconut oil and lining the bottom with parchment paper.  Then coat the top of the parchment with additional coconut oil.  (Or just use cooking spray.)

Whisk together the flour(s), baking powder, salt, lemon zest and poppy seeds.

In a large mixing bowl, stir/beat the softened coconut oil with a wooden spoon until it's mostly smooth.  Add the honey and maple syrup and continue to mix until the liquids are well-incorporated.  Add the eggs, one at a time; scrape down the mixing bowl between each addition.  Mix in the vanilla. Add the lemon juice.  Stir well.

Pour about half of the wheat mixture into the coconut oil/egg mixture and gently stir.  Pour in the coconut milk and stir.  Pour in the remaining wheat mixture.  Mix just until incorporated.

Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  If your oven heats unevenly (like mine does), be sure to rotate the bread around the 30-minute mark.

To make the glaze, whisk together the honey and lemon juice.  Set aside. 

After the bread is done, place the loaf pan on a wire rack.  Allow the bread to cool in the pan for about 15 minutes.  Run a sharp knife gently around the edge of the bread to loosen it up a bit.  Transfer the bread to a serving platter (while it's still warm).  Poke the bread with a small knife or ice pick, if desired, and then slowly pour the glaze all over the bread.   Serve warm or allow bread to sit overnight:  that's when the best flavor will develop.

Recipe inspired byThe Joy of Baking

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Chocolate Peanut Butter "Eggs" (Gluten and Dairy-Free)

  
Knock-off Reese's Peanut Butter Easter "Eggs".

I'm singing "Highway To The Danger Zone" as I pop one after another into my mouth.

These are DANGEROUS because they are SO INCREDIBLY GOOD. 

And the most "unreal" ingredient is powdered sugar.  I'm choosing to overlook that at the moment.

 "Gonna take you right into the danger zone!"

 Mix together peanut butter, powdered sugar, and salt into a crumbly dough.

 Scoop out teaspoon-sized "eggs".

 Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until hardened (about an hour).

 I inserted a toothpick into each "egg" for easier dipping/handling.  (And to keep my kids' hands moderately clean as they devoured them.)

Dip peanut butter "eggs" into a mixture of cocoa powder, melted coconut oil, and maple sugar.

Could I have done a neater job dipping the "eggs"?  Of course.  But could these have possibly tasted any better?  I cannot imagine so.

The next time I make these (tomorrow), I'm going to try double-dipping the eggs to get a thicker chocolate coating.  A lot of coating remained after the initial dipping, and I figure, why not make the chocolate a little thicker??

(I stored mine in the freezer, hence the frost...)

Printable Recipe

Chocolate-Coated Peanut Butter "Eggs"
Makes 19-20 teaspoon-sized "eggs"

1/2 cup peanut butter (I used "natural" peanut butter); any nut butter will work
1/8 (heaping) teaspoon salt
1/2 cup powdered sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
3 tablespoons maple syrup

Mix the peanut butter, salt, and powdered sugar until a crumbly dough forms.  If it's too moist, add a bit more powdered sugar; too dry, add a bit more peanut butter.  (It really depends on the type of peanut butter you use.)

Line a baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper.

Using a teaspoon, scoop out the peanut butter dough.  Form into an oval or "egg" shape.  Place "egg" on the prepared baking sheet.  Repeat until all dough has been used.  

Freeze "eggs" until hardened; about an hour.

When ready to coat the "eggs" in chocolate, whisk together the cocoa powder, melted coconut oil, and maple syrup in a medium bowl until smooth.  

Insert a toothpick into the bottom of each egg, if desired, to make "lollipops" as you dip the "eggs" into the chocolate coating OR use two spoons to dip and coat the "eggs".  Whichever method you choose, work quickly (so the "egg" stays hard/frozen) and dip each one into the chocolate sauce.  Place dipped egg on the lined baking sheet.  Once all "eggs" have been dipped, freeze until set (15-20 minutes).  

*I stored mine in the freezer because the coconut oil in the coating will begin to soften at about 76 degrees F (warm room temperature) and the "eggs" will be a mess to eat. 

**This recipe makes quite a bit of the chocolate coating.  It is much easier to dip in a deep "pool" of coating rather than trying to scrape together the last bit to dip the one in.  That being said, I hate to waste food.  Double-dipping the eggs is one idea, as is using the delicious coating as a topping for ice cream, fruit, etc. 

Recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie's amazing site.  She has some great substitution ideas if you really want to omit the powdered sugar.


Monday, March 4, 2013

Chocolate-Coconut Balls (Dairy-Free, Nut-Free, and Gluten-Free))


For this month's Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned to Veena's blog:  Veg Nation:  An Ode to Vegetarian Food.   Veena lives in India, and I had big plans to make one of her authentic Indian recipes.   I've been teaching my boys a lot about other cultures, and this month we happened to be studying India. The boys and I were going to take a trip to our local (authentic) Indian grocery store and learn as much about their food as possible.


I had it all worked out in my mind:  it was going to be  perfect!   

But I foolishly procrastinated.  And then today, the day I planned to go to the Indian grocery (3 days before the reveal date), Timothy got a stomach virus, and I was hit with the realization that if I were to also get sick, there's no way I could make the Secret Recipe Club deadline.

So I had to scrap the authentic Indian cooking dream and go with something more familiar to me:  chocolate. 


And Veena's Chocolate Coconut Ladoo are delicious.  (Ladoo (also written as Laduu) refers to an Indian sweet treat that is rolled into bite-sized balls.) 

Due to some dietary changes that we've had to make around here, I swapped out the sweetened condensed milk that Veena used with a homemade sweetened condensed coconut milk.  Also, Veena used 2 tablespoons of drinking chocolate...I used 3 tablespoons of straight cocoa to avoid the dairy that was lurking amongst every version of powdered "drinking chocolate" I had in my pantry.   


I am not much of a microwave user, but I followed Veena's microwave instructions to the letter and was grateful for them.  The microwave saved me a lot of preparation time as I spent most of my morning running back and forth from the kitchen to Timothy's sickbed.

Thanks, Veena!  As soon as possible, my children and I will be back to your blog to study Indian culture and food!


Chocolate-Coconut Balls (Dairy Free, Nut Free)
Makes 16 tablespoon-sized balls

1/2 cup sweetened condensed coconut milk
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cup shredded (unsweetened) coconut + additional 1/4 - 1/2 cup for rolling
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

In a microwave-safe bowl, mix the condensed coconut milk and the water.  Cover with a paper towel (it may splatter while it's cooking) and microwave the mixture for 2 minutes.  Carefully remove the bowl from microwave.

Whisk the cocoa powder into the milk/water mixture.  Once the mixture is smooth, add in the shredded coconut.  Stir well and microwave for about 2.5 minutes, stopping to mix every 30-45 seconds.  The mixture will be thick.

Carefully remove bowl from microwave and allow mixture to cool for 5-10 minutes.  When cool enough to touch, scoop out tablespoon-sized amounts of the mixture and roll into a ball between the palms of your hands.

Place 1/4 to 1/2 cup of shredded coconut in a shallow bowl. 

Roll the chocolate-coconut balls into the shredded coconut to coat.

Serve warm or at room temperature.  Store uneaten treats in the refrigerator. 

Recipe slightly adapted from:  Veg Nation