Perfect Party Treat: Chocolate Mint Brownies

This time of year can cause me to have pity parties.  Not because I don't have a lot, or because I can't travel during the holidays- but because I can't enjoy the Christmas treats that are so popular this time of year.

So this year, I decided to do something about it.  It was time to learn how to make some delicious Christmas goodies that people couldn't even guess that were allergy friendly.  

Dairy, Egg, Wheat & Gluten Free- can you believe it???

And it worked!  Today I brought these mint brownies to work and they were gone in no time. Staff enjoyed them, but even more importantly- the kid approved of them too!

So today, I share with you my newest, delicious, allergy friendly creation.  

This recipe was inspired by an amazing brownie recipe that I discovered through Camp Homewood and a mint icing I found on this website.  

I substituted for allergy friendly ingredients, put them all together, froze and voila- a delicious Christmas treat I can bring to all sorts of parties!

  Chocolate Mint Brownies- 9 x 13 pan
(gluten, egg, wheat, & dairy free)

Part 1: BROWNIE LAYER

Ingredients:

• Flax Gel (1 cup hot water + 5 tbsp ground flax seed) *
• 1 1/2 cups canola oil or melted margarine/butter 
• 1 1/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 3/4 white sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/3 cup all-purpose gluten free flour **
• 1 tsp xanthan gum **
  

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Boil water in kettle*

3. Line cake pan with parchment paper

4. Mix 1 cup boiled water with ground flax seed*
5. In large pot heat oil/melt margarine over medium-low heat

6. Take off heat and add cocoa, whisking until smooth

7. Add sugar, baking powder and salt to pot and stir

8. Stir in flax gel*

9. Sprinkle flour and xanthan gum over chocolate mixture and stir in with spatula, being careful to not over mix.

10. Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake for 25- 30 minutes.

11. Take out of oven and allow to cool for about an hour before spreading on 
      mint layer.
  
Tip: Brownies will appear gooey and undone after 30 minutes, but take them out anyways.  I cooked mine for 40 minutes and they were really crunchy instead of the chewy brownie they are intended to be.

 Alternative Ingredients:
* if you prefer to use eggs, replace the flax gel with 5 eggs.  First add 3 eggs to cooled chocolate mixture in step 8, then add the remaining 2.  I have not tried this, so you will let me know if you had to adjust the cooking time.

** if you prefer to use regular flour, replace the Gluten Free Flour with white flour and omit the xanthan gum. 


Part 2: Mint Layer

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup non-dairy butter, softened (or regular margarine or butter if you wish)
• 3 TBSP non-dairy milk (rice, almond, quinoa, soya)
• 3 cups icing sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• green or red food coloring (until you reach your desired colour)

Steps:

1. Mix above ingredients and spread on cooled 
    brownie.  

2. Put in fridge for 20 minutes to set icing.  That 
   means you have time to take a water break and  
   catch up on dishes before you prepare your 
   chocolate layer.



Part 3: Chocolate Topping

Ingredients:
- 2/3 cups dairy-free chocolate chips
-  1/4 cup dairy-free butter 

Steps:1. In small saucepan, melt butter and chocolate together over low heat

2. Spread over mint layer and put in fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.

These are delicious and freeze well!  I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!

Move over Pumpkin Pie. Here comes a Maple Pecan Pie that we all can enjoy!

I have two brothers.  My younger brother is a talented writer/editor and my older one is a gifted chef.  Every year the chef treats our family to an amazing dinner to celebrate the fall birthdays.

 

Not only was the gourmet food to die for, but so was the view

This past weekend he had us over to his Vancouver apartment and treated us to three memorable courses:

Root Vegetable Inspired Appetizers

Mediterranean Themed Main Course

Maple Flavoured Desserts

Is your mouth watering yet?  Trust me, it should be.  And the best part is that he made it all allergy friendly, so I could truly enjoy these masterpieces. 

Here is a breakdown for those of you curious of what each course entailed:

• Appetizers: Root Vegetable Soup; Yellow Beet Hummus with a variety of Root Vegetable Chips; and a Beet Panna Cotta with Pickled Carrots, Diakon and Turnips.

• Main Course:  Stuffed Chicken over top of Puttanesca; Lamb Meatballs with a Mint Yogurt; an Empanada stuffed with Ratatouille topped with some delicious yellow sauce; Rice Pilaf; Lemon Roasted Potatoes; and Maple Glazed Carrots

• Dessert: Unset Vegan Maple Fudge underneath a Maple Pecan Pie with a Gluten Free Crust topped with Maple Bacon Coconut Milk Ice Cream

I happened to arrive when he was preparing the Maple Pecan Pie...and it quickly became my favorite.  Made on a gluten free crust made it enjoyable for both me and the 'regular eating' guests.

So today, I share with you the recipe from Post Punk Kitchen and the little extra's he added to make it special (you will find those in a bolded green).  I will share the basics, for more details be sure to visit the link.


Chocolate Maple Pecan Pie/Tarts
 
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup non-hydrogenated margarine (goat butter) 
6 oz extra firm silken tofu (1/2 of a tetra pack)
1/4 cup cold unsweetened plain non-dairy milk (Quinoa Milk)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups pecan halves  
1/2 a bag of vegan chocolate chips

Note: Leftover filling can be used for ice cream topping, or if you are like me, you can eat it by the spoonful. 

Melt together sugars and maple syrup to make a caramel.  Add goat butter the take off heat.

In a blender mix tofu, cornstarch and non-dairy milk

Add tofu mixture, vanilla and pecans to caramel mixture

Optional: add chocolate chips and stir

Pour mixture into prepared pie crust and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

The finished product!

 
What a great night and a great menu! The good news is that he caters! and is a great teacher- I have learned so much and I am thankful that he taught me that just because you have limitations on your diet doesn't mean that you can't enjoy a delicious, gourmet meal.  Be adventurous, or else you may never find out that yellow beets make a great hummus!

The Perfect Allergy Friendly Christmas Cookie: Gingersnaps

I love to eat cookies, so I was pretty happy when I was able to use substitutions on a really good gingersnap recipe and create an even better one, one that I could enjoy.

  

These super easy cookies are a must for you to make if you have guests this Christmas Season with an allergy/intolerance to wheat, gluten, dairy or eggs.  I have gotten the approval from those that have allergies and even those that don't, so rest assured that your guests will enjoy them and be ever thankful that you made something they could enjoy with you.

Gingersnap cookies (Make 2 dozen large, or 3 dozen small cookies)
gluten, wheat, dairy, and egg free!                                                                                                                     

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

1.  In large bowl, combine:
-  1 cup canola oil*
-  2 cups white sugar
- ½ cup molasses
-  Flax gel (6 tbsp hot water + 2 tbsp ground  flaxseed)*
-  1 tsp vanilla
 


2. In a separate bowl, mix together:
- 4 cups Gluten Free Flour blend* (I used bob’s all purpose GF Flour)
- 1 tsp xanthan/guar gum*
- 1.5 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp ginger
- 1 tsp cloves

3. Mix dry ingredients into wet. 

 

4. Roll cookies in sugar and place on parchment lined cookie sheets. 

5. Bake for 10 minutes at 350, then let cool for five minutes before removing to a wire rack.  They make about 3 dozen and freeze really well.

 ***If you want to swap ingredients for 'regular' ones, follow the guide below:
- Canola oil- use margarine or butter

- Flax Gel- use 2 eggs

- GF Flour Blend- use white flour and omit the xanthan/guar gum 

Yum!

He's 30, Flirty, and Enjoying some Ice Cream Cake

Yesterday my husband turned 30.  I wanted to do something extra special, so I followed the old adage "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach".   

I love to bake and I love to experiment so I decided to make him an ice cream cake.  I searched for recipes but didn't find what I was looking for- this was for his 30th, it had to be amazing! I was inspired by a cake with a brownie bottom, so I started there and made the rest up as I went along.

The best part about this task is that it wasn't costly- it worked out to be cheaper than a store bought ice cream cake. And though I made it over 4 days, it was really easy and not all that time consuming. The best part- the reports were positive- I achieved an amazing creation that pleased both the birthday boy and his guests.

 
Today I am going to share with you just how I did it, and maybe one day you too can make somebody's birthday dessert dreams come true. 


Ice Cream Cake: The Recipe

You could make this in your average cake pan, but I recommend using a springform pan- the finished product just looks cooler.  I didn't have one, so I picked one up at a second hand store for $4.

Yeah, it's as good as it looks

The layers (from the bottom up):
1: My favorite brownie recipe
2: Thin layer of chocolate
3: Tillamook Brownie Mudslide Ice cream (1.5 quarts, any brand will do)
4: Fudgee-o Fudge Cookie Crumble Creation
5. Tillamook Oreo Ice cream (1.5 quarts)
6: Topped with cookie crumbs.

Instructions: 
1- Brownie: Spray your pan with cooking spray then line the bottom of your pan with parchment paper.  Prepare your favorite brownie recipe, pour in pan and cook.  Allow to cool at room temperature before pouring in fudge.
   

Tip: I split my recipe for a 9 x 13 pan in half, but next time I would use even less - perhaps using only 1/2 of what I prepared and using the rest for brownies in a mini cupcake tin. 

 2- Fudge:  Stirring often, melt 1/4 cup chocolate chips and 1/8 cup margarine over low heat.  Pour melted chocolate on cooled brownie.  Allow to cool for another hour then cover and put in freezer until the next day.


3- Ice Cream: Allow your ice cream to soften on the counter.  While you are waiting, get out your parchment paper and cut strips, as wide as your pan is high.  Tuck the parchment strips inbetween pan and brownie- this allows for the ice cream not to stick to the pan.

When soft, spoon your ice cream on brownie and spread evenly with a spatula.  Put in freezer until hard before proceeding onto next layer.

Tip: Once my ice cream got soft around the edges I spooned 3/4 of it into a bowl and froze the rest.  My husband appreciated having some leftovers.  

4- Fudgee-o Fudge Cookie Crumble:  Crush 3 rows of fudgee-o's. Melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/4 margarine.  Mix cookies and melted chocolate then spread over top of hardened ice cream.  Put back in freezer.


5- Ice cream: Soften your second flavor of ice cream and spread over hardened fudge cookie topping.  

6- Cookie Topping: crush remaining cookies and sprinkle on top of cake. Cover and put in freezer until ready to eat.

The Final Results!

Concluding Thoughts:

I am really happy with how the cake turned out.  Though I was not able to enjoy more than a fork full myself, creating something from my own ideas and seeing people enjoy it brought me a lot of joy.   


The beauty of this cake is that you can use any type of ice cream and cookie and really personalize it.  I am inspired to create a dairy free, gluten free one that I can enjoy when it's time to celebrate my 30th!