Pumpkin Crepes with Cream Cheese Filling

I saw on a Paleo blog about making pumpkin pancakes and they looked AWESOME. I saw a drawback the person was using dried pumpkin and you need to order it. Our kids LOVE pumpkin and I wasn't going to order dry pumpkin when we can go to the store and purchase a can of pumpkin puree.

 Since I have made banana pancakes I figured this would be easy as a banana is pretty close in consistency to pumpkin puree. I made one bad batch and then perfected the recipe with the 2nd batch so that the pancake was a lot easier to flip.


Ingredients for the Pancakes/Crepes:

3 eggs
1/4 cup cottage cheese ( I use Daisy 4% milk fat)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree*
1/8 tsp Jamaican Allspice**
1/8 tsp ground cloves**
1/8 tsp nutmeg**
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda

* I used pumpkin puree that had no seasonings in it as we can not eat anything with cinnamon in it.
** These are according to our  tastes in our family you can add more if you would like. I did not add any cinnamon to ours however your more than welcome to add cinnamon to your liking.

Directions:

1) Pre-heat a non-stick pan so that it is nice and hot once your done mixing your ingredients. I only have non-stick pans and I do not have a griddle.

2) Take the first 6 ingredients and add to a food processor and process until smooth.

3) Pour your batter into a measuring cup as it makes it easier to pour. Now add your baking powder and baking soda to your batter and take a whisk and whisk gently until combined.

4) Pour a medium amount into the center of your pan. Do not place more than one in the pan as it makes the pancakes/crepes hard to flip.

5) Be patient as these are not your typical pancakes. Wait for bubbles to form all over the pancake you will see the edge firm up and then flip your pancake. If you are not patient and try to flip too soon the pancake will not flip.

6) Cook on opposite side for 1-2 minutes. It's a watch your pancake/crepes type of deal you will see it rise in the center and then fall and that is when you know it is fully cooked.

7) Remove from the pan and let either cool down to add filling to make crepes or you can enjoy them as pancakes and put some syrup on them.


**WARNING** the frosting recipes make a lot and they store in the fridge for awhile. I like to make up large batches so that I can make pancakes for more than 1 meal.


Ingredients for the filling:

I used the traditional cream cheese frosting however I think using cream cheese, heavy cream and agave/maple syrup would have been better.


Traditional cream cheese frosting ingredients:

1-8oz package cream cheese
4 Tbs melted butter
2lbs powdered sugar

Take the cream cheese and set out for a little bit and cut up and place in a mixing bowl. Mix your cream cheese until there are no lumps. Add melted butter to cream cheese you may need to scrape the bowl down.  Then add your powdered sugar and mix on LOW. You can gradually increase your mixer speed and add warm water to thin it out to your liking. This frosting is heavy and you can just spread the frosting all over the pancake and fold into 3 for the crepe. Or lay flat and spoon and spread.


Non-Traditional cream cheese filling:

1-8oz package cream cheese room temperature
1-16oz heavy whipping cream
Agave nectar/Maple Syrup to taste***

*** I have only used Agave nectar with this recipe so I do not know how stable this would be with Maple Syrup. With Agave nectar I can place this in the fridge and it will not separate it is VERY stable.

Place the heavy cream and cut up cream cheese into a mixing bowl and start on low and gradually increase the speed until firm peaks are in it. This means when you take off the whisk you can place firm peaks that will not fall in your mix. Add your agave nectar to your liking I usually just eyeball it.

Place in the middle of your crepes as this will be light and fluffy filling and be really good.


ENJOY! 

Donuts!

 DONUTS

This post is a SHOUT OUT to Better Batter Flour for not only having AWESOME recipes that are FREE on their blog but also providing an AWESOME gluten free flour blend that is really easy to work with. Can't thank them enough for everything that they do. This company was started by Naomi and the causes that she supports social and charitable causes. She continues to AMAZE me with what she does.

Here is the recipe from Better Batter Flour  it is AWESOME and I modified it so that it can be a regular donut with a hole in the middle instead of a filled donut. Our kids are not big on filled donuts they would rather have them sugar coated or plain without anything on them.


 We have used Rum Chatta and Peppermint Schnapps so far for the alcohol in the donuts and BOTH taste really good at the end. The other modification I did to this recipe is that I OMIT the salt as salt keeps yeast from producing too much of a rise in the mixture. I found it was better to omit the salt and the rise is fantastic in these.

For the first rise I let the mixture rise in the mixing bowl on top of my dryer that is running for a min of 2hrs. 

I HIGHLY recommend using a 4 inch round cutter for the outside and for the inside we used 1.5 inch cutter. After the donuts are cut I let them rise for 30min on top of my dryer that was going.

I am just simply AMAZED at how these donuts turn out they are light and fluffy and our kids LOVE them. They beat any store bought donut that is Gluten Free out there.

Don't forget to visit Better Batter Flour for this AWESOME recipe!

Cinnamon and Sugar Plantain Banana Chips

I made a batch of protein pancakes using plantain bananas and it was pretty gross. I still have 2 left over and wasn't quite sure what to do with them. Our kids wanted a snack and I had oil in a pot that I had used the night before for donuts and figured why not. Our boys enjoy cinnamon and sugar and figured I would give it a whirl.


Ingredients: 

2 plantain banana's
1 pan filled with oil for frying at medium high temperature
1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar
1-2tsp or more of cinnamon
2-3 paper towels
1 plate
1 strainer to scoop out banana chips from hot oil


Directions:

1) Heat your oil so that it is ready to fry your banana's. Take a plate and place 2-3 paper towels on it to place your banana chips on once they are done frying.

1) Peel your plantain banana's and in order to do this I took a knife and cut off the ends and then used the knife to remove the peel.

2) Cut the banana's into chip size to slice thin but not too thin.

3) Mix together the cinnamon and sugar into a plastic zip lock bag so that you can insert cooled banana's and SHAKE them.

4) Once your oil is hot be VERY VERY careful when placing your banana's in there as they sink to the bottom and will rise to the top of the oil and finish cooking.

5) Remove banana chips carefully and put on a plate that is lined with paper towels. Allow the banana's to cool for a few minutes BEFORE placing in the zip lock bag and shaking the cinnamon and sugar mixture on them. If you do not allow the banana's to cool the bag will MELT!

6) Serve immediately after the cinnamon and sugar is on them for everyone to enjoy.

Light and Fluffy Pancakes

Our family ENJOYS pancakes and with being gluten free it sometimes makes it hard to find the right texture to fit everyone's taste in our house.  After quite a bit of experimentation I have finally came up with a great recipe that is LIGHT and FLUFFY. Best part NO OIL is being used and no buttermilk. This recipe makes a large amount of pancakes about 8 medium to large pancakes depending on the thickness of each pancake.


Ingredients:

10oz Better Batter Flour
2tsp baking powder
2 1/2 cups Almond Milk
6 whole eggs
2tsp vanilla
1 half gallon of vanilla ice cream ( you will not need the entire package)



Directions:

1) Pre-heat your pan or griddle so that it is nice and hot and ready to cook your pancakes. Make sure that the heat isn't too hot or the pancakes will not cook in the middle. I use ceramic non-stick pans and use medium heat.

2) In a large bowl mix together your flour and baking powder together using a whisk and set aside.

3) In another small bowl mix together eggs, almond milk and vanilla together using a whisk making sure that the eggs are all broken up and mixed really well in your almond milk.

4)Pour your wet mixture on top of your dry mixture and whisk it together. You will have some lumps in your mixture this is completely fine.

5) Let your mixture sit for a couple of minutes as it will thicken. This will take about 2-3 minutes to thicken unless it thickened while you were whisking the mixture.

6) Pour your desired amount of batter onto your griddle or your pan. You can decide how thick or how thin you would like your pancakes. for thinner pancakes pour a small amount of batter and use a spoon or spatula to spread it out into a circular shape. For thicker pancakes pour more batter and use a spoon or spatula to get into a circular shape.

7) Watch your pancake to tell when it is ready to flip you will watch the outside edge and see if it has firmed up. The middle should have some bubbles in it as well. Flip your pancake and continue to cook from 1-3 minutes again this time depends on how thick or thin your pancake is.

8) Remove pancake from the pan and stack them on top of each other. This will help keep the pancakes warm while you continue to make the rest of your batter.

9) Take an ice cream scoop and place one scoop in the middle of the pancake and watch it slowly melt. ENJOY!

**you can make this a dessert or a breakfast treat for the kids, spouses or any loved one in your family. You can add fruit on top of the ice cream, melted peanut butter, chocolate, etc let your imagination run wild.**

Vanilla Protein Pancakes with Vanilla Ice Cream on Top

I have fallen head over heals for protein pancakes as they are LIGHT and FLUFFY and the best part NO OIL and no buttermilk to get this to a light and fluffy texture. The recipe is for 1 serving and you can make it into however many pancakes you want. If you prefer a thicker pancakes make two with the batter. If you like thinner pancakes like I do you can make three the same size and the fourth is a little smaller.


Serving size: 1 person



Ingredients:

2 scoops Ultra Protein Powder (30g)

2 eggs (whole eggs)

1 cup almond milk ( I used Silk Milk Original Almond)

1tsp baking powder

1tsp vanilla

1/2 cup Better Batter Flour

1/2 cup vanilla ice cream 



Directions:

1) Pre-heat your skillet, pan or iron griddle you plan on cooking your pancakes on.

2) Mix all the dry ingredients into a container that has a lid and shake them really well. Or you can put all dry ingredients into a bowl and mix together using a whisk.

3) Combine all wet ingredients into a small bowl and whisk the eggs, milk and vanilla together.

4) Now pour your wet ingredients on top of your dry and use a whisk and mix together. The batter doesn't need to be lump free. There might be a few lumps in the batter that is fine. If you over mix the pancakes might not turn out.

5) Let the batter sit a little bit until it thickens up a bit about 2-3 minutes.

6) Now pour desired amount on the pan and you can use the back of a spoon or a spatula to spread the mix into a circular shape on your pan.

7) You can tell when the pancake is ready to flip once the edges look firm. There should also be some bubbles in the middle of the pancake. Flip and cook for an additional 1-3 minutes on the opposite side again this time depends on how thick or how thin you are making your pancakes.

8) Once ALL of your pancakes are cooked and stacked. Take 1/2 cup of vanilla ice cream and place it on top and ENJOY!


***if you want you can top the ice cream with a frozen fruit mixture that is thawed. Or you can drizzle with honey, sprinkle some chocolate, etc as the possibilities are endless with this recipe***

Caramel Cream Cheese Brownies

I wanted to do a little experimenting with Better Batter Brownie Mix  as there are usually a LOT of different types of brownies you can make. Today I experimented with cream cheese and caramel. And WOW is all I can say take a look for yourself on how they turned out.

  

 Brownie ingredients:

1 box Better Batter Fudge Brownie Mix 

2 eggs

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup grape seed oil (or any other oil we just prefer coconut or grape seed)

Cream Cheese filling ingredients:

1 package cream cheese room temperature

1 egg

1/3 cup white sugar

Caramel Ingredients:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream or Coconut Milk
2Tbs unsalted butter

Directions:

1) Pre-heat oven to 325 degree's.

2) Take an 8X8 square glass pan and line it with parchment paper on the bottom and sides.

3) Prepare the Brownie Mixture according to the directions on the back of the box. I used 2 eggs instead of 3 for a more fudge like brownie.

4) Take your cream cheese, egg and white sugar and place in your mixer until smooth or a blender works as well. Make sure that the mixture is really smooth and can spread it very easily. 

5) Make your caramel mixture. Take all of the caramel ingredients and place in a heavy bottom pan and bring to a boil. Make sure to stir constantly until the sauce thickens about 5-7 minutes. Remove the caramel from the stove. 

6) Pour about 2/3 of your brownie mixture into the bottom of your parchment lined pan. Next take your cream cheese mixture and pour on top of the brownies. Smooth out the cream cheese mixture on top of the brownie mixture.

7) Next take your caramel sauce and pour on top of your cream cheese mixture and smooth out over cream cheese. Finally take the remaining 1/3 brownie mixture and pour on top of the caramel mixture. Once the brownie mixture is smoothed out take a knife and make swirls in your mixture. Be careful not to go too deep just the top needs some swirling.

8) Place the brownies in the oven for about 35-45 minutes to bake. I would recommend setting a timer for 30 minutes and then checking them every so often. The brownies are done when you fully insert toothpick and comes out clean about 1-1.5 inches from the edge of your pan. Remember I used a glass pan and a deep one so these brownies are thick. You will need to adjust your baking time if your using a metal pan and one that is shallow.

9) Let brownies cool to room temperature before cutting them up and ENJOY!

 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Goodies

These were made up on a whim on Sunday just to see if I could make a good treat that was packed with protein, good fats and no added sugar other than mini chocolate chips.


Ingredients:

1 cup room temp coconut oil
1 cup peanut butter (salt and peanuts only is what we use)
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (our flakes are very small pieces)
4 tsp mini chocolate chips
1/3 cup almond flour


Directions:

1) Take all ingredients and mix together with the exception of the mini chocolate chips.

2) If the mix is too thick to spread place in the microwave for about 20-30 sec to melt the coconut oil a little bit.

3) Now mix in the mini chocolate chips.

4) Line a cookie sheet that is 8 X12 with wax paper. Pour the mixture onto the pan and place in the refrigerator for about 15-20 minutes until semi hard.

5) Cut the pieces and then place back in the refrigerator for storage.

6) ENJOY! These are a little salty with a little sweet.