Hacks That Work

Fall is upon us, but believe me when I tell you that this pumpkin bread or muffin recipe is a crowd pleaser all year long.

Now, I’m not one for a lot of words to sift through before a recipe, so I’ll keep this short. If you need dairy free, egg free, refined sugar free, or gluten free, you can make this recipe and experience a delicious Fall bread or muffin and be proud to make it for others or take to an event. It’s friendly for multiple allergies and intolerances. I just made a double batch ( 4 loaves) and was able to share two of them with two different women. (Hello Soup . Bread . Cookies)

I’ll post the original recipe in bold with substitutions out from each ingredient.

Mom’s Pumpkin Muffins w/ Courtney’s substitutions

Preheat your oven to 350°

Mix together:
2/3 c Crisco (or 10 + 2/3 Tbs butter or 2/3 c avocado or coconut oil)

2 + 2/3 c sugar (or 1 c Maple Sugar, 1 c maple syrup, and 2/3 c coconut sugar) – You can also use raw honey, but the key with this substitution is the maple syrup.

4 eggs (or 4 flax eggs, or Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer)

1 16oz can of pumpkin (Mom prefers Libby’s. Courtney uses whatever her store has and prefers organic. Homemade will work also.)

2/3c water (If you are using substitutions that are liquid like maple syrup, honey, apple sauce, flax eggs, oil instead of butter, etc. DO NOT add this ingredient!)

In a separate bowl mix:

3 + 1/3 c flour (or Bob’s Red Mill 1 for 1)

2 tsp baking soda

1 + 1/2 tsp salt (Courtney like’s Redmon’s Real Salt)

1/2 tsp baking powder (Rumford’s Red can is aluminium free)

1 tsp cinnamon (When substituting the flours, adding in flavor is of most importance. Courtney adds 1 Tbs Cinnamon and 1 Tbs Pumpkin Pie Spice. – Sometimes more because I LOVE the spice flavor to really come through.)

2/3 c chopped pecans (or walnuts or no nuts)

Bake about 20 minutes for muffins.
Bake about 1 hour for loaves.

Once a toothpick comes out clean. Bring them out to cool on cookie racks. (avoid a flat surface so they don’t sweat and get too moist.)

Tip: Line your loaf pans with baking paper. This saves you a wash AND makes them come out easily to cool and put into a to-go container to share.

If you try this recipe, come back and let me know what you thought!

pizza9 Once again I find myself definitely not being a food blogger, but having a recipe worth sharing. Our photos are real life. The pizza was good.

I have been afraid of yeast recipes for years. I’m not sure why, but when you need to avoid gluten, you’ve got to get brave. Am I right? I don’t want to remove every pleasure of eating and I certainly don’t want them to never be able to eat in public. We are going for a “healthy alternatives at home” style of life so that if we go out, we can eat without concern because we know we are eating the cleanest possible things the majority of the time.

This recipe is so simple and customizable for flavor choices that I’m considering attempting to use it for a cinnamon roll situation. I’ll keep you posted.

Here are the goods:

– 3/4 cup of warm water
– 1 Tablespoon of raw organic sugar
-1 packet of yeast (1/4 oz)
– 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill One for One Gluten-Free Flour
– 1 teaspoon Pink Himalayan salt
– 1 large organic egg
– 1 Tablespoon organic extra virgin olive oil (Avocado oil if you are making something sweet)
– 1 Teaspoon Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar
– 1/2 Tablespoon Oregano
– 1/2 Tablespoon Basil
– 1/2 Tablespoon Garlic powder

Instructions:

– Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
– Line pizza pan with baking paper or use pizza stone
– Gently mix yeast packet and sugar setting aside until foamy (3-5 mins)
– With an electric mixer, gently mix flour and salt and seasonings adding in egg, oil, vinegar, and yeast mixture.
– Mix on low for 1 minute
– Using an oiled spatula, move the dough onto parchment paper. Oil your hands and gently press the dough out to your desired thickness. (We have found that thin crust is nicer with this recipe)