Banana Muffins
These muffins are a new favorite in our home! I typically make them plain, but have also added some homemade dark chocolate chips to them for a fun, chocolatey twist. They make a nice snack during the day or side for breakfast.
To see the recipe, see my guest post at The Nourishing Gourmet here.
Shared at Allergy-Free Wednesdays.
Pumpkin Bars (Grain-free and Refined Sugar-free)
A few weeks ago, I was hungry for dessert and noticed I had multiple cans of pumpkin puree in my cupboard. What was the logical solution? It was to make pumpkin bars, of course! The bars themselves are not overly sweet, but the frosting is quite sweet which I think creates a nice combination. Please, feel free though to reduce the amount of sweetener in either or both to your liking!
See the recipe at my guest post for The Nourishing Gourmet here.
Banana Bread
I read somewhere that you can substitute half arrowroot and half coconut flour for regular flour and then add more eggs…so keeping that in mind, I found a regular banana bread recipe, converted it to coconut flour and arrowroot, substituted honey for the sugar and added extra eggs (I’ve heard 4 eggs per 1 cup coconut flour). And…this was the end result!
Banana Bread
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 2 1/2 bananas)
5 eggs
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup butter or coconut oil (melted)
3/4 cup honey
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup arrowroot
3/4 cup coconut flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease one 9×5 bread pan.
2. Put mashed bananas, eggs, applesauce, butter or oil, honey and vanilla in a large bowl and mix well.
3. Add dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Pour batter into prepared bread pan and bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour and 20-25 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.
Pumpkin-Apple Pie Muffins
Well, I am not sure what to call these–they are made in a muffin pan and look like muffins, yet their texture is almost more of a bar or dessert and they remind me of pumpkin pie…hence the name. The smell of fall (and pumpkin!) is in the air! And hopefully more pumpkin recipes will follow!
Pumpkin-Apple Pie Muffins
1 cup chopped apples (about 1 apple)
1 cup pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 Tbsp. vanilla
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup coconut flour, sifted
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped (sprinkle on top)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line regular-sized muffin pan with liners.
2. Combine chopped apple, pumpkin puree, eggs, applesauce, vanilla and honey. Mix well.
3. Add dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.
4. Divide batter among 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle chopped walnuts on top.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
6. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
I would love to hear feedback on these–if there are things you would change, add or delete. Let me know your thoughts! Most of my recipes are a work-in-progress. 
Rocky Road Brownies
Now, I will warn you up-front that this is a time-consuming dessert if you make the marshmallows and chocolate pieces from scratch–but in my opinion, worth the time. This recipe combines 3 different recipes of mine: Homemade Chocolate Chips, Homemade Honey-Sweetened Marshmallows, and Zucchini Brownies. I hope you like it!
Homemade Honey-Sweetened Marshmallows
Ingredients:
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup cold water, divided
2 packets unflavored gelatin
1 egg white
1 tsp. vanilla
Directions:
1. Line a 8×8 pan or loaf pan with parchment paper (the size of pan will determine how thick your marshmallows are).
2. Dissolve the unflavored gelatin in (1/4) cup cold water in a heat-proof bowl. (It will probably turn to a solid, but that is just fine.)
3. Heat honey & (1/4) cup water in saucepan on medium-high heat. Stir until dissolved, then stop stirring. Insert a candy thermometer and heat mixture until it reaches 240 degrees.
4. Meanwhile, whip egg white until soft peaks form.
5. Once mixture reaches 240 degrees, pour it into gelatin water and stir to combine. (The hot liquid will soften up the gelatin mass.) Add vanilla.
6. Allow to cool for 3-4 minutes, then pour mixture in a steady stream into whipped egg white, whipping to incorporate (a hand mixer works great for this). Whip until stiff peaks form. Pour into prepared pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Remove and cut into desired shapes.
Homemade Dark Chocolate Chips
Yield: 3/4 cup chips
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
1/4 cup cacao or cocoa powder
2 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. arrowroot
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Directions:
1. Bring 1/2 inch of water in the bottom pan of a double-boiler to a simmer. Place top pan of double-boiler on simmering water and melt oil, cocoa, honey, and arrowroot in it. Cook two minutes more after it is all melted. Remove from heat.
2. Add vanilla. Stir.
3. Lift off top pan of double-boiler and carefully wipe off any condensation or water on the bottom of it. (You want to be sure no water gets into the chocolate or it may seize.)
4. Pour into small pan lined with parchment paper. (I used a bread pan and it didn’t even cover the entire bottom of the pan.)
5. Put in fridge for 2 or more hours.
6. Cut into little chunks and store in airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
ROCKY ROAD BROWNIES
Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup shredded zucchini
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup raw honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup coconut flour, sifted
2/3 cup chopped walnuts, divided
1 recipe Honey-Sweetened Marshmallows (prepared–see above)
1/2 cup Homemade Dark Chocolate Chips (prepared–see above)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine eggs, zucchini, applesauce, honey, and vanilla. Mix well.
3. Add baking soda, salt, cocoa and coconut flour. Mix until dry ingredients are incorporated into wet ingredients.
4. Fold in 1/3 cup chopped walnuts.
5. Pour into a greased deep baking pan and bake for 20-35 minutes (depending on size of pan) or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. (I used a 12 1/2″ x 9 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ stone baker and it took 31 minutes.)
6. Remove from oven and sprinkle marshmallows over the top of the brownies. Sprinkle remaining 1/3 cup chopped walnuts and 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips over the top of the marshmallows.
7. Return baking pan to oven and cook for 3-5 more minutes.
8. Remove from oven and devour!! (I used a spoon to serve it.)
New & Improved Paleo Zucchini Brownies
I have been given zucchini by three different people and I have had so much fun trying different zucchini recipes! I do have to admit though, that the ones I’m liking the best are baked goods…so yet again, another zucchini brownie recipe. In my opinion, these are better than the other zucchini brownies I posted. These are very moist and yummy.
Paleo Zucchini Brownies
Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup grated zucchini
1/2 cup mashed banana (about 1 medium banana) or 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup raw honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup cocoa or cacao
1/2 cup sifted coconut flour
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine wet ingredients. Mix well.
3. Add dry ingredients. Mix well again.
4. Pour into a greased 9×9 square baking pan and bake for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. (Mine took 24 minutes in a 9×9 stone.)
*I am thinking that substituting unsweetened applesauce for the banana would work, but I haven’t tried it yet. Let me know if you try it and how it works!
*EDIT: I have tried unsweetened applesauce in place of the banana–works great!