Gluten-Free Marbled Zucchini Bread

I hate wasting food so when I found a few zucchinis in the veggie drawer that were looking a bit soft I figured I would throw together some zucchini bread as a treat to have around for the week. I was feeling really indecisive and couldn’t choose between standard zucchini bread and a chocolatey version so I decided on a marbled loaf so I could have the best of both worlds!

This recipe has a mix of Bob’s Red Mill Cup 4 Cup flour, oat flour (made by blending gluten free oats in a food processor until they are very fine) and coconut flour. This blend creates a consistency that is somewhere between a standard banana or zucchini bread and a fudgey brownie. This makes it really versatile as it can be great as a breakfast treat topped with some peanut butter and jam or a delicious dessert served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

If you love chocolate, you could easily double the amount of cocoa powder and chocolate chips in the recipe and make a full chocolate loaf and if you would rather have a more traditional zucchini bread you can omit the cocoa and chocolate all together. This would also be wonderful with a cup of chopped walnuts added in. However you choose to eat or make this bread I would highly recommend enjoying it with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee!

Ingredients: (Prep Time: 20 min. Bake time: 50 – 60 min. Makes 2 loaves):

  • 1 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Cup 4 Cup flour
  • 1 1/4 cups oat flour (made by blending oats in food processor until mostly fine)
  • 1/4 cup coconut flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup greek yogurt (preferably full fat)
  • 1 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup loosely packed brown sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups grated zucchini (about 2 medium zucchinis)
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder (optional)
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325 and grease two 9×5 baking tins.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together cup for cup flour, oat flour, coconut flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon
  3. In a smaller bowl mix together eggs, yogurt, almond milk, sugar and vanilla. Slowly add in melted butter mixing the entire time so as to not cook the eggs
  4. Combine flour and egg mixture and mix until smooth (about 2 minutes)
  5. Mix in zucchini until well incorporated
  6. Divide the batter evenly into two bowls and in one bowl mix in cocoa powder and chocolate chips
  7. Alternate 1/2 cup spoonfuls of chocolate and plain batter into greased baking tins until you run out of batter
  8. Bake for 50 – 60 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean
  9. Allow bread 30 minutes to cool before removing from pan and slicing. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Mousse Parfaits

Pumpkin Mousse Parfaits

I am going to keep this post short and sweet. This is an incredibly easy, grain-free dessert that’s perfect for a fall date night treat. You won’t need to turn on your oven, or your stove and it only needs one bowl. I recommend refrigerating it for an hour or two before serving it because it needs some time to set and it tastes a lot better cold.

dessert 2

I layered the pumpkin mousse with pumpkin flavored Within/Without granola which made this taste like creamy pumpkin pie. I absolutely love their granola, it’s grain-free and has a unique chewy texture. The seasonal pumpkin flavor is amazing and I’ve been sprinkling it on everything I can lately. If you want to give it a try, out you can order it online here!

Dessert 1

Ingredients (Prep Time: 10 min. Total Time: 60 min. Serves: 2):

  • 1 cup Within/Without Granola
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream
  • 4 oz. cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
  1. Whip heavy cream until soft peaks form.
  2. Mix in cream cheese until well incorporated but mixture is still fluffy.
  3. Mix in pumpkin pureé, powdered sugar, vanilla and pumpkin spice.
  4. Layer 2 tbsp. granola followed by 1/4 cup mousse in small cups. Refrigerate until mixture has set and chilled, about 1 hour. Enjoy!

 

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

I don’t care how basic it is. I love pumpkin everything. There, I said it and there’s no shame in my game. Lattes, bread, cookies, pasta, you name it and chances are I’ve made it and devoured it. But of all of the pumpkin treats I’ve made, these mini pumpkin cheesecakes are by far my favorite.

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Unlike traditional cheesecake that is labor intensive, requires a water bath and takes forever to bake, these mini cheesecakes take 30 minutes in the oven, have a super simple ingredient list and bake in cupcake tins. So easy!

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We were having friends over for the Steeler’s game on Sunday so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to make a batch.

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I’ve been making these for years with all sorts of flavor combinations using different fillings and cookies as the crust. For this batch, I used Goodie Girl’s seasonal Caramel Apple flavored cookies with pumpkin spice filling and whipped topping. They were to die for and the Goodie Girl cookies worked wonderfully. They had great crunch, and the caramel apple flavor added a really nice tart kick.

If your store doesn’t carry the caramel apple flavor, I think their toffee crunch or even chocolate chip cookies would work well also.

If you are looking for an easy fall treat that is perfect for parties, give these a try!

Ingredients (Prep Time: 15 min. TotalTime: 50 min. Serves: 15):

For the Crust:

  • 1 box Goodie Girl Caramel Apple Cookies (about 2 cups of crumbs)
  • 4 tbsp butter (melted)

For the Filling:

  • 12 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
  • 2 Tbsp. Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin puree

For the Whipped Topping:

  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 4 oz reduced fat cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp. pumpkin spice
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners (you will need 15).
  2. In a food processor, pulse cookies until they are fine crumbs. Add in melted butter and pulse until well incorporated.
  3. Distribute cookie mixture among cupcake tins (about 2 tablespoons per tin) and press into the bottom. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes until they just start to brown.
  4. In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, greek yogurt, sugar, egg, vanilla and pumpkin puree until smooth.
  5. Distribute cheesecake mixture evenly among cupcake tins. Bake for 25 minutes until the middle isn’t jiggly and the top has browned a tiny bit. Once removed from oven, let them cool completely.
  6. In a medium mixing bowl, whip heavy cream until peaks just start to form. Then, mix in cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and pumpkin spice until they are well incorporated and smooth.
  7. Serve cheesecakes with a generous dollop of whipped topping and enjoy this delicious, seasonal treat!