My Official Comeback Tour & Irish Soda Bread

Long time, no see! I know that some of you have probably wondered why I seemed to drop off the face of the earth these last couple of months. I didn't intend to disappear for that long; things just worked out that way. Trust me when I tell you that I needed that time off. This past year has been a difficult one for me and my family. It actually began a couple of years ago when my mother suddenly passed away after a brief illness. Almost immediately, I packed up and sold our house while shopping for and purchasing a larger home so my brother could move in with us...all the while still grieving, working full time and continuing my almost daily blogging (which involves cooking, creating and writing up recipes, photographing, responding to emails, social media, etc.)...all things that I love, but are time consuming. Blogging, cooking and creating recipes are a passion and love of mine. As many of my regular followers know, last year my husband was injured when he fell down our basement stairs and required surgery. He was unable to work or drive for 2 months which left all household responsibilities to me. Things did not work out here for my brother, so he decided to move back home leaving us with this huge house to maintain for just the two of us. Please know that I'm not complaining about it, just trying to help you understand some of the reasons for my unexpected absence.

As if there wasn't enough to deal with already, another very difficult family situation arose this past year involving one of my grown children that I won't get into the specifics of because it is an extremely private and painful matter. Our family was tested by someone that did unthinkable and inexcusable things to one of my children; things that hurt our family very deeply. What this person did was dishonest, cruel and unforgivable and I will leave it at that. There is nothing someone could do to hurt me more than to hurt one of my children, regardless of how old they are. Fortunately, our family is strong and resilient and we continue to move forward from this nightmare. My goal now is to get back to the things that I love and that bring me joy...like cooking and blogging. I want to do this...and more importantly, I need to. So, this is step one of that process. If you wrote to me or tried contacting me these last couple of months, and I didn't respond, I am sorry. I've been taking baby steps and posting a bit on Facebook and Instagram...but my blog is where I share myself as well as my recipes with you. So, be on the lookout for me to begin showing up in your feeds again. Thank you for your patience and understanding while I took this necessary break. I have missed blogging and my interactions and communication with so many of you over these past almost 6 years now. Although we have never met, I feel like I really know so many of you and I'm excited and look forward to returning to my real world. I'm BAAAAACK!

On another note, I know Saint Patrick's Day is coming up and many of you in the past had requested I make a grain and gluten free version of Irish Soda Bread. I created a traditional version several years ago. There were several variations...traditional with raisins and then for those that don't like raisins, I created one with dried cranberries and/or blueberries instead. I also created smaller individual Irish Soda Bread Rolls. So, here you go, below is the recipe for my Irish Soda Berry Bread (just replace the berries with 1 ounce of raisins if you prefer).  The links to the other recipes are in the bolded links in this paragraph. Enjoy!

  

Irish Soda Bread Rolls

Irish Soda Berry Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups blanched almond flour

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 tablespoons Swerve Sweetener (or other granular sweetener)

2 tablespoons diced chilled butter

1/2 teaspoon xanthum gum

3 to 4 tablespoons dried cranberries or blueberries, finely chopped

2 teaspoons coconut flour

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease an ovenproof skillet.

In a medium bowl, add almond flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, sweetener, and whisk until well combined. Using a pastry cutter/dough blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk in xanthum gum. 

In a small bowl, toss chopped berries with coconut flour until lightly dusted (this keeps them from sticking together); stir berries into dry mixture.

In a glass measuring cup, add buttermilk and egg and lightly beat. Make a well in center of dry mixture; pour wet mixture into dry ingredients and mix together with a rubber spatula just until dough pulls together into a soft ball. Shape dough with hands lightly dampened with water into a rounded loaf and transfer to a lightly greased 10-inch cast iron or oven proof skillet, baking sheet or cake pan. Use a sharp serrated knife to score top of loaf with "X-shaped" 1/2-inch deep slashes. 

Bake until golden brown, about 32-35 minutes. If bread begins browning too quickly, lightly tent with a piece of aluminum foil. If additional browning is desired, reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake an additional 5 to 7 minutes longer. Bread is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes; carefully transfer bread to a wire rack to cool. Slice and serve with butter or jam at room temperature, or lightly toast sliced bread in a 350 degree F oven for a few minutes.

*Note: If adding raisins, finely chop a 1-ounce box of raisins. If preferred, do not add fruit and enjoy bread plain, or substitute chopped nuts of your choice.

       

Pumpkin Pecan Coffee Cake - A Fall Favorite

It's throwback Thursday and I'm re-sharing a recipe for Pumpkin Pecan Coffee Cake that I created 2 years ago. It's most definitely a fall favorite of mine. This coffee cake makes a perfect addition to your Thanksgiving breakfast menu. It’s rich, moist and oh so pumpkiny!  Your house will smell amazing while it’s baking, filling it with the aromas of pumpkin and spice that will waft through your kitchen as its baking. I love this time of year. It's delicious for either breakfast or for dessert. I like adding a dollop of whipped cream or scoop of vanilla ice cream when enjoying it for dessert. The pecan topping has a touch of molasses mixed into the sweetener to create a brown sugar substitute and is combined with butter and pecans to make a delicious streusel-like topping. It is absolutely amazing with a cup of coffee. If you love pumpkin and you love coffee cake...this recipe will satisfy both. Try it, you won't be disappointed. I've included some photos and the recipe below. Enjoy!

Ready to pop in the oven

Fresh out of the oven

Pumpkin Pecan Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

For the pecan topping:

1/2 cup granular Swerve sweetener (or other granular sweetener)

1 teaspoon black strap molasses

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch sea salt

2 Tablespoons diced cold butter

1 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted

For the batter:

2 cups Blanched Almond Flour

1/2 cup ground golden flax seeds

1/4 cup coconut flour, sifted

1 1/2 cups Swerve granular sweetener (or other granular sweetener)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Dash ground nutmeg

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin

6 Tablespoons melted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" baking pan.

To make the pecan topping, combine sweetener, molasses, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl; add diced butter and cut in using a pastry cutter/dough blender until mixture is coarse and crumbly (or the mixture can be pulsed until combined and crumbly in a small food processor). Stir in toasted pecans and set aside.

To make the batter, whisk almond flour, ground flax, coconut flour, sweetener, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl until combined.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs, vanilla, buttermilk, pumpkin and melted butter together until smooth. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix together, beating with a rubber spatula or hand mixer until a thick batter is formed. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Top with pecan topping and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

*Note:  To toast pecans, spread in single layer on a baking sheet and bake in oven at 350 degree F for approximately 5 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently until lightly toasted.

       

Brownie Bites - LCHF (Low Carb High Fudgy)

This evening I'm sharing a recipe I created a couple of years ago for Brownie Bites. These brownies are deep, dark, rich and fudgy. They're made with blanched almond flour, grass-fed butter and deep dark cocoa powder. To give them an extra chocolatey kick, I added a little bit of espresso which enhances and deepens the chocolate flavor, along with a few bittersweet chocolate chips. They are so easy to make and delicious to eat as is, but can be made even more decadent if frosted or drizzled with a glaze, too. If you like nuts in your brownies, you could add some finely chopped walnuts or pecans to the batter. These brownies are topped with whipped cream and fresh berries like decadent little chocolate berry shortcakes and are amazing served that way.

These brownies are low carb, grain and gluten free and are also low in sugar (the small amount of bittersweet chocolate chips adds a trivial amount of sugar). To make them completely sugar free, simply substitute sugar-free stevia sweetened chocolate chips (like Lily’s) in place of the bittersweet chips. The amount of sugar contained in the 1/4 cup of 70% dark chocolate chips used in this recipe is minimal (each brownie bite contains less than 1 gram of sugar). The recipe and photos can be found below. Enjoy! 

Brownie Bites
Makes 2 dozen square brownie bites or 3 dozen smaller round brownie bites

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, melted

1-1/2 cups Swerve sweetener or preferred sweetener (I used powdered Swerve)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons espresso powder, optional

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup blanched almond flour

2 tablespoons ground chia seeds

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (I used 70% cacao)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a nonstick 20-well brownie bite pan or 24-cup mini muffin pan with coconut oil or butter.

In a large bowl, combine melted butter, sweetener and vanilla. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in espresso powder. In a separate bowl, combine cocoa, flour, ground chia, baking powder and salt. Gradually blend dry mixture into egg mixture, adding half at a time. Stir in chocolate chips.

Fill each prepared brownie well or mini muffin cup two-thirds full with batter. Bake for approximately 15 minutes if using brownie bite pan or 12 minutes for mini muffin pan, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (a couple of moist clinging crumbs is okay). Be careful not to over-bake. Cool in pan. Remove by gently loosening edges with a plastic knife or spatula and then carefully pry and lift up edge of brownie and remove from pan. Yields approximately 2 dozen square brownie bites or 3 dozen round brownie bites. If desired, frost with your favorite frosting, drizzle with glaze or top with whipped cream and fresh berries.

*Notes: If brownies don't release easily, place in freezer for about 15 minutes before removing from pan. Granular or powdered sweetener can be used, but if using an erythritol based sweetener (like Swerve or Truvia, etc.), using a powdered version eliminates the grittiness sometimes created when refrigerating baked goods made with it. Ground chia can be purchased already ground or is easily ground in a small food processor or coffee grinder. Measure chia seeds after grinding because grinding them increases their volume.

*Nutrition Information: a) For 24 square brownies, each contains approximately 1.8 grams net carbohydrates (total carbohydrates minus fiber) and less than 1 gram of sugar (0.72 grams); b) For 36 smaller round brownies, each contains 1.2 net carbohydrates and less than 1 gram of sugar (0.48 grams).

        

Chocolate Chip Biscotti - Throwback Thursday

Today I'm re-sharing my recipe for Chocolate Chip Biscotti. I absolutely LOVE these biscotti. A couple of years ago, I tried my hand out at making biscotti after one of my sons gave me a biscotti pan (by USA Pan) for Christmas. One of my favorite flavors of biscotti is cranberry pistachio, but since it was my first run at making biscotti, I decided to go with chocolate chip, not to mention it's a more popular flavor. A few weeks after making these biscotti, I actually made my favorite Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti. They turned out amazing as well.

I was so excited at how these biscotti turned out and surprised at how easy they were to make. Even if you don't own a biscotti pan, you don't need to have a special pan to make yours; a simple cookie sheet will work just fine (although I really do love my pan)! If you've never had biscotti before, they are a dry, crisp, twice baked cookie that originated in Italy and they're not too sweet. They are baked the first time as a loaf, then sliced and baked on a cookie sheet the second time until they are dry and toasty. I think they're best dunked in coffee. The commercially made biscotti that I used to eat contained 18 grams of carbs and 10 grams of sugar each. My grain free version made with almond flour and sweetened with Swerve only contain 3.7 net carbs and 1.8 grams of sugar each which is a huge difference. Check out my recipe and photos below. Enjoy!

Dunking beauties!

Chocolate Chip Biscotti
Makes approximately 18

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons butter, softened

2/3 cup granular sweetener (I used sugar free Swerve Sweetener)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups blanched almond flour

1 tablespoon coconut flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (I used Equal Exchange 70% cacao bittersweet chips)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly grease a 12” x 5-1/2” biscotti pan or 18” x 13” baking sheet (or line with parchment).

In a medium bowl, cream butter and granular sweetener together. Add vanilla and beat in the eggs. Add almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder and salt, stirring until smooth. Mix in chocolate chips. 

Scoop dough into the center of prepared biscotti pan. Using wet hands, shape dough into a log shape mounded slightly higher in the center. Leave approximately a 3/4” space around the edges of the pan to allow room to spread during baking. If using a baking sheet, place dough in center of prepared baking sheet and shape into a log approximately 10-1/2” x 3”, mounding slightly higher in the center.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool in pan for 20 minutes, then carefully remove from pan and transfer to wire rack to cool for about one hour.

Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F. Using a sharp chef’s knife, slice biscotti crosswise into 3/4" slices (they can also be cut diagonally, if preferred).  Lay slices on sides on parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until dry and golden; cool completely. Biscotti continue to dry and crisp as they cool. Store in airtight container.

*Notes: If biscotti slices begin to brown too quickly, reduce oven temperature to 275 degrees F. If desired, biscotti can be dipped into or drizzled with melted dark chocolate.

*Nutrition Information: Each serving contains approximately 3.7 grams net carbohydrates (total carbohydrates minus fiber) and 1.8 grams sugar.

       

Glazed Blueberry Breakfast Rolls - an Ode to Bojangles Bo-Berry Biscuits

Since another holiday weekend is upon us, I wanted to re-share my recipe for Glazed Blueberry Breakfast Rolls that I created a couple of years ago that was inspired by one of my followers who asked for my assistance in creating a healthier version of one of her old favorites; Bojangles Bo-Berry Biscuits. I thought these would be a perfect breakfast idea for the upcoming holiday weekend as we wind down summer. Since I had never actually tried a Bo-Berry Biscuit before, I had to do a little research (she also sent me a recipe for a conventional version of them as well; the original recipe had wheat and sugar). I must say that I was quite excited to have successfully created a grain free version. My recipe for Glazed Blueberry Breakfast Rolls was modeled after the Bo-Berry Biscuits from Bojangles.

These rolls are amazing! They're topped with a vanilla glaze that can either be used as a fluffy vanilla frosting when chilled or a luscious vanilla glaze when warmed and spread over one of these warm sweet rolls. I tested them out with frozen organic wild blueberries as well as dried blueberries. I prefer to glaze them one at a time as I eat them. I simply pop one into the microwave for 10 seconds or less and spread it with the glaze mixture and let it melt and run down the sides. If serving them to a group, just glaze and top them all at once instead. You could toss in a couple diced strawberries and swap them for half of the blueberries if you wanted and topped with the white vanilla glaze, red strawberries and blueberries, they would make the perfect Labor Day Weekend breakfast! I found them to be a cross between a buttermilk biscuit and a sweet roll...you know, sort of a "biscuit-like sweet roll." Check out my photos and recipe below. Enjoy!

Scoop

Pat and smooth with dampened fingertips

Before baking

After baking

Blueberry Breakfast Rolls

Makes 12

Ingredients:

3 cups blanched almond flour

1/2 cup confectioners style Swerve Sweetener (or other powdered sweetener)

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

3 Tablespoons chilled butter, diced

3 ounces very cold brick style cream cheese, diced

2 large eggs

1/4 to 1/2 cup cold buttermilk (*see note below for directions on how much to use)

1/2 cup of thawed “frozen wild blueberries”, drained and patted dry (or dried blueberries)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a muffin top pan or line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium mixing bowl, add almond flour, sweetener, baking powder, soda and salt; whisk to mix well.  Add diced chilled butter and cream cheese.  Using a pastry/dough blender, cut butter and cream cheese into dry ingredients until moistened and crumbly.

Crack both eggs into glass measuring cup; fill with buttermilk to the 3/4 cup mark (total mixture of eggs and buttermilk should equal 3/4 cup). Make a well in the center of the flour mixture; add buttermilk and egg mixture and mix just until it pulls together into a soft sticky dough. Fold in the blueberries. The dough will be light and fluffy.

Scoop dough onto prepared pan or baking sheet using a 3-tablespoon size retractable scoop, spacing evenly apart to make approximately 12 equal sized mounds. Lightly tamp down tops to barely flatten top only (do not flatten biscuits). Bake for approximately 20-22 minutes or until light golden brown. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to complete cooling. Prepare optional vanilla glaze and spread on top of warm biscuits, if desired. Makes 12.

*Notes: Because eggs vary in size and volume, add them to the glass measuring cup first and then fill with buttermilk to the 3/4 cup mark (amount of buttermilk used will be between 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup, depending on the actual volume of eggs). The total liquid mixture should equal 3/4 cup. A tip to keep frozen blueberries from bleeding into the batter is to thaw them first, drain off juice; gently blot and pat dry with paper towels. Spread out on a parchment lined plate or baking sheet and freeze to keep from turning batter blue when folding them in.

Vanilla Glaze:

1 1/2 Tablespoons softened cream cheese (very soft and almost melted)

7 to 8 Tablespoons heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup confectioners style Swerve Sweetener (or other powdered sweetener)

Few drops liquid stevia, to taste

To Make Glaze: Combine cream cheese, confectioners style sweetener, and vanilla. Add cream a few tablespoons at a time, mixing vigorously after each addition until smooth and desired consistency. To adjust sweetness without altering glaze consistency, add a drop or two liquid stevia, to taste. When chilled, this glaze behaves like a rich and fluffy frosting. When warmed or spread on a warm biscuit, it melts and behaves as a glaze. Refrigerate any leftover glaze.

*Note: If desired, add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest to glaze.