Cinnamon Roll Swirl Cake

Ingredients:

For the batter:

3 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup butter, melted

For the topping:

1 cup butter, softened (the softer, the better)
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp cinnamon

For the glaze:

2 cup powdered sugar
5 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 pan.

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients for the batter together except for the butter. Slowly stir in the melted butter. Pour into the greased 9x13 pan.

Mix topping ingredients together until well combined. Drop evenly over the batter.
Swirl your topping and cake mixture with a knife going up and down the length of the pan.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Mix the ingredients for the glaze. Drizzle over the cake while it's still warm.

Allergy-Friendly Ginger Molasses Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 1/3 cup buckwheat flour
1/3 cup millet flour (or sorghum flour)
1/3 cup tapioca flour
2/3 cup of sucanat or coconut palm sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
dash of ground cloves and allspice
1/3 cup coconut oil, room temperature
2 Tbsp blackstrap molasses
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (1 lemon squeezed)
3 Tbsp apple sauce (I use homemade here)






DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Mix the buckwheat flour with the rest of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Then add the oil and the rest of the wet ingredients. Mix well and let sit for a few minutes to soak up the moisture. The batter will be a tad wet, but that is just what makes these cookies chewy too.

Use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop or rounded tablespoon to form 1-inch balls of cookie dough and place on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 12-14 minutes. Then pull from oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes before moving to a plate or container. Recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies.

NOTE: I added a glaze to mine to add a little sweetness and "dress them up" a bit.

White Chocolate Lemon Truffles

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp whipping cream
grated zest of 1 lemon
9 ounces good quality white chocolate, finely chopped
pinch of salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into thin slices
2 tsp freshly-squeezed, strained lemon juice
granulated sugar, for coating

DIRECTIONS

In small, heavy, non-aluminum saucepan, combine the heavy cream and lemon zest. Over low heat, heat until cream comes to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, cover tightly and let sit for 20 minutes.

Combine the white chocolate, salt, and butter in medium heatproof bowl. Remove the cover from the cream and reheat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until it reaches a simmer. Remove from heat. Strain through fine-meshed strainer into white chocolate mixture. Press down on the lemon zest left in the strainer to extract all the liquid from it.

Place white chocolate mixture over a pot of warm water on low heat (water should not touch bottom of bowl). Stir the chocolate frequently just until almost melted. Remove the bowl from the warm pot. Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. (Note: White chocolate can be difficult when melting. If there are small lumps of white chocolate use a food processor and process the mixture at high speed just until smooth.) Stir in lemon juice. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl. Chill at least 4 hours, covering tightly when cold.

To make truffles: Using a small cookie scoop or a spoon, form balls of about 1 inch diameter from the cold truffle base. Roll in sugar until well-coated. (If you’re having trouble, drop the small spoonful of white chocolate into the sugar, using the sugar to help roll it into a ball. Once a ball is formed, re-roll it in the sugar until coated.) Store truffles airtight in refrigerator for up to one week or freeze for longer storage. To serve, remove from refrigerator 15 to 20 minutes prior to serving time. Let stand at room temperature, covered, until serving time.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Ingredients:


3 cups cooked brown rice
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup finely diced onion
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cans (14.5 oz each) cans petite diced tomatoes
1 3/4 cups tomato sauce
2 cups reduced sodium, fat-free chicken broth
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
salt and fresh pepper to taste

 

 

Directions:

In a large pot or dutch oven, brown ground meat on high heat and season with salt. Drain fat if any, reduce heat to medium-low, then add peppers, onions and garlic. Cook about 5 minutes on low heat.

Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, marjoram and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. Serve about 1 1/3 cups of soup in each bowl and top with 1/2 cup cooked brown rice.