Double Chocolate Muffins

A while back I posted a recipe for some yummy muffins. They are still a staple in our house! Somewhere along the line we added in some cocoa powder. It took a little fiddling but the result is great! We've been making a batch of these about every other day. They can easily pass as cupcakes too! :)

Double Chocolate Muffins

300 grams brown rice flour
50 grams arrowroot starch
2 1/2 Tablespoons cocoa powder (7 1/2 teaspoons)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
180 grams dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
61g applesauce (1/4 cup)
1 Tbl apple cider vinegar + rice milk to make 300 g
115 grams canola oil
1/2 cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips

Prepare muffin tins and preheat oven to 350F.

Add apple cider vinegar to the rice milk and set aside.

Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, then stir in applesauce, oil and vinegar/rice milk mixure.

Finally mix in the mini chocolate chips. :)

Bake for about 25 minutes.

Yields 18 standard size muffins.

After cooling, store in a covered container. They are best the first and second day, and if left uncovered for too long turn almost rock hard. But luckily they are so yummy they rarely see a day three, so no one ever has to eat a stale muffin.

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I have always used regular old brown rice flour, but after my son had several reactions that I strongly suspect were due to cross-contamination with the flour, I switched over to Authentic Foods Superfine Brown Rice Flour. I'd read about it from several of the big name gluten-free, allergy baking names, but never could make myself spend the extra to try it. WOW. The muffins and pancakes I've made with it are light and fluffy, not gritty at all, and taste and feel like they were baked with gluten-filled all purpose flour. If you haven't yet, give it a try and you will be astounded at the results.

For comparison, here's the exact recipe, same number of muffins, baked with the natural-food-store-generic-brand brown rice flour I've been buying for years. They are just slightly domed, and much denser. Still yummy muffins, but they aren't going to pass as cake.

Homemade Corn-Free Marshmallows

It's the season of Peeps, so I wanted to make sure my little guy had a similar marshmallow-sugary treat this year. The no corn version is just as simple as making/using corn free powdered sugar and a corn-syrup alternative (agave syrup or golden syrup). After inhaling more of these marshmallows than any person should, all marshmallows in this house will now be homemade. :) These are far better than any store-bought marshmallow I've ever tried.

I also used this recipe to create chocolate marshmallow-filled eggs with a cute silicone pan/mold. I coated the mold with melted Enjoy Life chocolate and let it firm up a bit. Then I added a rounded tablespoonful of marshmallow fluff straight from the mixing bowl, then topped with more melted chocolate. Place in the refrigerator to firm up and enjoy!

Marshmallows

3 envelopes unflavored gelatin (1 1/2 oz total)
1 1/4 cups cold water, divided
3/4 cup safe powdered sugar, divided (see sidebar)
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup agave syrup
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract (safe)
Canola oil
Parchment paper
Bowl scraper
Wire cake leveler or dental floss


Combine gelatin with 1/2 cup cold water in a bowl. Stir and set aside.



Lightly coat 9”x13” pan with canola oil. Place parchment paper in pan and coat again with oil. Dust 1/4 cup powdered sugar to evenly coat inside of pan.

In small saucepan, combine remaining 3/4 cup water, granulated sugar, agave syrup and salt. Place over medium-high heat and cook until temperature reaches 240°F on candy thermometer. Remove from heat.

Using stand mixer with whip attachment on low speed, beat gelatin mixture for 1 to 2 minutes, slowly pouring in sugar mixture. (Do not scrape pan because it may have undissolved sugar.) Gradually increase speed to high and continue to beat for approximately 10 minutes. Mixture will be very thick and form soft peaks. Add vanilla extract and mix for an additional minute.



Pour into prepared pan, scraping remaining marshmallow from the bowl. Smooth top as much as you can with scraper. Sift 1/4 cup powdered sugar on the top.  Set aside and allow marshmallows to dry for at least an hour.

When marshmallows are no longer sticky to the touch, remove from pan by lifting parchment paper. Cut into 1-inch squares using wire cake leveler or dental floss held taught. Coat edges of marshmallows in remaining powdered sugar.

Store lightly covered overnight, then in a sealed container at room temperature. Should remain fresh for about 3 weeks, but they’ll be eaten up long before that!

Dip in melted Enjoy Life chocolate for an extra-delicious treat!


Yields about 10 dozen marshmallows.


Variations:

You can also coat the marshmallows in granulated sugar or colored sugar, crushed peppermint candy or in plain starch for a less sweet treat.

Spoon still-soft marshmallow fluff into chocolate coated molds for a special candy treat!

Cut out marshmallows into shapes with an oiled metal cookie cutter, then coat as desired.

Put a marshmallow on a lollipop stick and coat as desired.

Add different flavored extracts in place of vanilla, such as peppermint.

Add a few drops of food color in the last minute of mixing for colored marshmallows.


Shared on Cybele Pascal's Allergy Friendly Friday 4/6/12! Click over to find lots of other allergy-friendly recipes!

No-Tomato Marinara Sauce

The no more tomatoes change was a a really tough one for my daughter. I posted before about the no-tomato ketchup I made, but she really missed pasta with sauce too. This is a variant of the recipe posted at Living Without.

1 14-oz can beets (only salt added), drain and reserve liquid
2 14.5 oz cans pumpkin puree
1 - 1 1/4 cup safe chicken broth
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2/3 cup canola oil (or olive oil)
1 Tablespoon arrowroot starch, moistened with 4 Tablespoons reserved beet liquid.

Puree the beets until smooth.

In a large pan over low heat, combine pureed beets, pumpkin and all seasonings except the arrowroot mixture. Mix in broth and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add in arrowroot and simmer for 1 more minute.

This makes a large batch of sauce, about 6 cups. I usually divide it into 2 or 3 containers, keep 1 in the fridge and the remainder in the freezer.

My girlie loves it with shaped Tinkyada shaped rice pasta or spagetti noodles, on Namaste pizza crust topped with Boar's Head pepperoni, and as a dipping sauce for chicken strips or nuggets (still need to post that recipe!). It's been a great help in getting her to want to eat again.

I added this recipe to Cybele Pascal's Allergy Friendly Friday 3/16/12!

Waffles!

We recently purchased a new waffle iron, and before contaminating it with milk, wheat and egg, I wanted to try out an allergy-friendly version first. I came across this recipe at The Daily Dietribe and was thrilled with the results!

A rarity, I actually was able to use the recipe as written! It's written for any flour, starch or milk, but I wanted to record exactly what I've been using so I wouldn't have to keep relying on my memory every time I make a new batch.

I have started using my scale for baking whenever possible, so I have only used the weight measurements. The volume measurements are by The Daily Dietribe. 

Dry Ingredients:

158 grams superfine brown rice flour (1 cup + 3 Tablespoons)

86 grams arrowroot starch (1/2 cup)

2 tsp safe baking powder (see sidebar)

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

2 Tbls granulated sugar

Wet Ingredients:

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 Tbls canola oil

196 grams full-fat coconut milk w/o guar gum (1/2 a 14oz can)

1/4 - 1/2 cup water (1/2 - 3/4 cup for pancakes)

Stir together dry ingredients. Add in wet ingredients except for water and stir. Add water while stirring until the batter is thick but spreadable. 

Pour just enough batter onto preheated waffle iron and cook until lightly golden. Serve warm with maple syrup, chocolate syrup, jam or fresh fruit! They are a hit! 

p.s. The waffle iron has now been designated as allergy safe, so no allergens are ever going to be cooked it in. :)

I posted this recipe to Cybele Pascal's Allergy Friendly Friday (on-a-Monday) post on March 12, 2012! Take a look at all the other great recipes posted -- all are allergy friendly in some way!

Yummy muffins!

My little guy wanted muffins, so I had to whip some up! :) This recipe is derived from the Gluten-Free Whole Grain Muffin recipe posted at gluten-free girl. You'll need a scale for this one. By using the weight measurement instead of volume you can easily switch out ingredients (like choosing a different flour or starch) and still get good results.

300 grams brown rice flour
50 grams arrowroot starch
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
180 grams dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup applesauce
1 Tbl apple cider vinegar + rice milk to make 300 grams
100 grams canola oil

Prepare muffin tins and preheat oven to 350F.

Add apple cider vinegar to the rice milk and set aside. Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, then stir in remaining ingredients.

As an add-in this time he picked A few little handfuls of Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips. :) I think I'll try chopped apples and a bit of cinnamon next time! After that, maybe coconut muffins by using coconut oil and a bit of shredded/chopped coconut mixed in and a little on the top that will get toasted?

Bake for 25 - 30 minutes.

The original recipe says this makes 15 muffins. Since non-eggy, baking soda-heavy muffins have a tendency to overflow, I was a more cautious and made 24 smaller muffins. As you can see they don't reach the top of the liners, but they are good kid-sized treats!

No-Tomato Ketchup

One of the heartbreaks of my little girlie losing tomatoes is that she ADORES ketchup! She wants ketchup with nearly every meal. Thankfully I'd stumbled upon a tomato-free ketchup recipe some time ago and was able to come to her rescue. The recipe below is modified from one posted at food.com.

No-Tomato Ketchup

1 (14.5 ounce) can jellied cranberry sauce
1 (14.5 ounce) can pear halves in natural juice, less 1/4 cup juice
1 (14.5 ounce) can sliced carrots, drained
1/2 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Place all the ingredients in blender and puree until smooth. (It won't take long!) It's a very similar color to tomato ketchup, just slightly transparent, and smells just like tomato ketchup.

It received the Miss M seal of approval! My husband thinks it tastes a lot like a certain roast beef sandwich chain's sauce. My oldest didn't care for it at all. I'm embarrassed to say I couldn't bring myself to try it. I have a lot of food aversions, and this apparently was just too much for me. But it makes a large batch and I won't have to mix it up too often. I split up the finished ketchup and put half in the freezer. I need to buy a little squeeze bottle and fill it up with safe ketchup so it's easier to manage than spooning out of the pictured container.

More Allergies :(

I haven't posted in a while because the food allergy situation is changing so much. No fun new recipes for Little C and now it's become clear my little girl is sensitive to some food too. Because of her symptoms she is now going to be screened for eosinophilic esophagitis.

New additions to C's allergy list: mustard, grapes, barley, oat, celery and almonds. This summer he also mildly reacted to peaches and cherries but we're hoping that was oral allergy syndrome and will retry them this winter, since those didn't show up on the skin test. Of course grapes didn't show up either, and when he retried them this week after much begging, he reacted with a rash on his face and arms and coughing. He snuck a raisin the next day and reacted with a rash again.

Miss M has had troubles for the last 2 years that neither we nor doctors were never able figure out. After doing a food diary it became all too clear that she quickly reacts to tomatoes and potatoes. I suspect dairy might be a problem too. She hasn't undergone allergy testing for tomato or potato, so I'm not sure why those foods are causing problems, but there isn't a doubt that they do. In November she's scheduled to have an upper endoscopy.