Snickerdoodle Cake

I don't think I ever had a snickerdoodle cookie, although I have heard of them.  They sound yummy.  The other day, I came across a recipe for a soaked snickerdoodle cake and I thought that I could make that.  Then the prospect of digging out some flour deterred me until I realized it would be easy to make a gluten free version (and all the ingredients were in the kitchen instead of having to find the flour in the food storage, lol!).

So I made it....and the kids didn't like it.  I thought it was good but it tasted like pumpkin cheesecake to me, even having the consistency of cheesecake, lol!  I meant to put in one cup of yogurt but I accidentally put two since I was kind of pouring it from the container and the whole container plopped in.  I tend to measure by eye when I bake; a little of this, a little of that.  If you want it to taste more like cake, only put one cup of yogurt!

So here is my spin on Snickerdoodle Cake!

1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 to 1 cup of honey (depending on how sweet you want it; I didn't measure)
8 eggs
1 or 2 cups of plain yogurt
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 c. coconut flour
generous pinch sea salt
cinnamon and sugar to top

Mix the melted butter and honey together until well combined.  In a separate container, beat the eggs until they are well mixed.  Beat in the yogurt and mix well.  Add to the butter and honey mix.  Mix the dry ingredients together and slowly add into the wet ingredients.  Mix well.  Pour into desired cake pan (greased if not using silicone).  Sprinkle with a combination of cinnamon and sugar to your desire.  Bake at 350 degrees until it is cooked through, about 40-45 minutes.

Since I can't find my camera and my old one isn't working, I can't share a picture.  I don't know if I'll make it again but not because I didn't like it since I really enjoyed it!  It made too much for just me and DH, although I may make it sugar-free and just freeze pieces for something different when I get low carbing again.  I find the kids mostly like gluten free goodies if they are chocolate flavoured.  Can't blame them but it is good to branch out and try new things too!

Healthy Brownie Waffles

I was going to post this tomorrow but it's too good not to share.  Healthy.  Brownie.  Waffles.  Three words that most people love.  So can brownies be healthy?  Waffles?  Sure, why not!  This is the same recipe I posted earlier with a slightly different method.  Mark thought it was a totally different recipe even though I only added cocoa.

I was asked to share this with the blog Food With Kid Appeal and I am more than happy to!  While I am always interested in things that I like to eat, I am always on the hunt for things that the kids will like.  It is even more challenging now that we are doing our gluten free trial.  Waffles are one of those things that are quick to put together and are always good.  Chocolate adds an extra specialness to them.  Ethan loved them and for him to love something makes me very happy :).  Shaylee said she liked the other ones better but I suggested making marbled ones some day and both the kids cheered.  Yay!

Chocolate Brownie Waffles


1/3 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp cocoa powder
3 tbsp maple sugar or honey (mix sugar with dry and honey with wet)
6 eggs
1tbsp vanilla
4 tbsp  melted butter or coconut oil (or a combination of the two)

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Add the eggs, one by one, mixing thoroughly between each egg. Add vanilla and melted butter (and honey, if using) and continue mixing until well combined.  Let sit 5-10 minutes to allow the coconut flour to absorb the wet ingredients.  Let your waffle iron heat during this time.  Cook as per iron instructions or to desired doneness.  Serve with your favorite toppings.  We used real maple syrup but whipped cream and/or berries would be a nice addition.  So would a chocolate sauce or banana slices, or a combination of all of the above!  It would make a nice dessert as well as a main dish.

Enjoy!

Part of It's a Keeper, Simple Lives Thursday, Real Food Wednesday and Pennywise Platter

Coconut Flour Waffles

My kids love waffles.  They are easy and delicious.  Going gluten free, I wondered how I would make them.  I looked at tons of recipes and to be honest, I don't want to be cooking with lots of different starches and flour of this and that.  I want simple.  Many gluten free recipes call for a ton of ingredients and aren't very nutritious due to all the starch and type of flours used.

I saw a coconut flour recipe before but lost it so I googled and found one here.  It certainly looks really good so I gave it a try.  It was spectacular!  It rose to fluffy proportions, it got slightly crispy on the outside and best of all, the kids loved them!  Ding ding, we have a winner!  Best of all, it has lots of eggs, which are sometimes hard to get into the kids.  I want them to have more fat and protein since they are always hungry and those two things help with that.

So here is my take on the recipe:

Coconut Flour Waffles

4 tablespoons melted butter 

6 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2tbsp vanilla (I love vanilla!)

1/3 cup maple sugar or honey

1/3 cup coconut flour plus a tablespoon or two to thicken if too runny

Blend these ingredients well.  I used beaters but a blender would work well too.  Let sit for 5 or so minutes while your waffle iron is heating up to help thicken.  If it is still runny (mine was), add another tablespoon or two of coconut flour.  Cook on the waffle iron until risen and cooked to desired texture.  Serve and enjoy!  Makes 6 square waffles.  Note, I do not have a picture since they got gobbled up so fast, but they looked like normal waffles.  Also, this could be low carb with the subtraction of the sweetener.  Yum!

I am going to try a chocolate version.  I read how some people replace 1/2 cup of flour with cocoa powder in their waffle recipes but since you don't use much coconut flour, I will probably just add a couple of tablespoons, maybe instead of the extra coconut flour.  It is meant to be like a brownie.  Sounds yummy!

Low Carb Gluten Free Bread (banana bread version too!)

I debated about putting both these recipes here since I rarely post recipes but why not.  I am too excited not to share.  Anyone who low carbs know how hard it is to get a good bread, especially those not filled with fakey things.  I like my food real, thank you!


There are good recipes out there to be sure but many are filled with things I am trying to avoid.  Vital wheat gluten comes to mind.  A variety of low carb mixes with things I can't pronounce nor get without an expensive order over the internet.  Why can't there be a recipe with ingredients I can get at the store?  Is that so hard?

Apparently not because here we have an easy bread recipe that is low carb, gluten free and has simple healthy ingredients I can get at the local health food store, grocery and/or bulk food store.  Bread!  See:

Slices of nice warm bread, very good with butter.  Not only that, I was able to adapt it to make banana bread for the kids.  That isn't so pretty in pictures but sometimes very ugly things are very, very good.  This isn't as low carb but low enough that I feel comfortable eating it (just so you know, there were 6 muffins when I made them and I am home along. Just saying).

So where did I find this great recipe?  Well, I was cruising blogs having to do with paleo and primal blueprint diets and recipes and came across one called "Primal Journey" where she had a recipe for Grain Free Bread. She got it from a blog called "Joyful Abode " (found here) and now I'm sharing it :).  Recipes sure can travel around the internet and I'm sure its been seen in other places too.

Low Carb, Gluten Free Bread

• 1 cup coconut flour, sifted
• 1 cup flax seeds, ground and sifted 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 11 eggs 
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/3 cup plain full-fat yogurt
• 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  Mix together dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, coconut oil, yogurt, and vinegar.  Pour  the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in small amounts to incorporate well, mixing after each addition.  Let sit for about 10 minutes to allow the coconut flour to soak up the wet ingredients.  Turn into a greased loaf pan or a silicone pan.  I used a silicone bundt pan for the bread.   Bake until a toothpick comes clean (this depends on what kind of pan you are using.  It took about an hour and a half for mine to come out)  Cool 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a plate, wire rack or a cutting board. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

For the banana bread, the biggest difference is I used one less egg and I added 5 mashed very ripe bananas, 1 tbsp vanilla and 1/3 cup of honey to the wet ingredients.  I also used 1/2 cup of lard left over from when I recently made donuts instead of the coconut oil since I'm being frugal with it (the fat still had a donut flavor and scent to it).


It could of used more sweetening and possible more bananas if you like a strong banana taste.  I found even with 5, the banana taste didn't carry as well as I had expected.  With the chocolate chips, it was delicious!   I will probably only make them as muffins for the kids from now on.  Oh and I baked this in a silicone loaf pan and used a silicone muffin pan.  I love silicone as you do not have to grease it and things pop right out.


I really recommend giving these recipes a try.  I look forward to seeing how my kids like them since I can put them in their lunches.  So many low carb recipes call for nuts as a base and their school is rigidly nut free.  


Part of Kelly The Kitchen Kop's Real Food Wednesday!

Coconut flour & phytic acid | Phytic Acid: Tips for consumers from food science.

Link: Coconut flour & phytic acid

This is something that I have wondered about, does coconut flour need to be soaked? Is there phytic acid in it? Well, there appears to be a small amount and there isn't enough to be concerned about, which is of relief to me.

I am planning this week to go back to grain free/low-ish carb/gluten free/whatever. Eating healthy isn't good if I'm sneaking cookies every time I walk by them. Not healthy cookies but the Oreos and Fudgeos that we got for 99 cents a box. I notice I am not feeling as well as I should and there is a reason I am craving this junk. So tomorrow I am cutting it out. I don't know what to call it since I will still have technical grains but I will be avoiding flour based foods and if I need something, I will make it out of coconut flour. It's not really low carb as I'm not restricting starchy veggies and it's not entirely gluten free. I'm doing my own thing...traditionally! Nourishing my body. Healing.

So now that I know coconut flour is a good choice, I will have more options. Plus many recipes only call for a very small amount and lots of eggs, a good way to get those nourishing yummies in your tummy :).

I will still be soaking for the family and will NOT be buying any more junk. Mark brought the kids to a fun fair Saturday and they had candy and candy apples. Well, Ethan was literally bouncing off the wall, just totally unable to stop moving (he even said he didn't know why he couldn't stop). I know it's primarily because of the candy apple and all that red dye 40. It doesn't affect Shaylee the same way, thank goodness, but I know I should be more careful with both of them regardless as they are toxic! It really made me really sure about abolishing the artificial stuff in our diets, especially food colouring. But by golly, it sure is hard, especially around Halloween and with Christmas on the way!