March 2014 – Baking Genes

Chocolate Almond Biscotti

My dad doesn’t call himself BiscottiDave for nothing. For starters, he always makes his famous biscotti to support bake sales and fundraisers. He even teaches biscotti making classes at our local community college and church! I might be biased, but I’m telling you that his recipes create the best biscotti I’ve ever tasted:)

Here is the second installment in our biscotti recipe series – Chocolate Almond Biscotti. If you haven’t seen it yet, make sure to check out our classic almond biscotti recipe! Continue reading Chocolate Almond Biscotti

Buckwheat Banana Bread (Gluten Free)

I’ve been baking way too much this week. I like to tell myself that it’s a healthy form of stress release.

Thank goodness for hungry med school friends who are always willing to take the masses of banana bread off my hands. The recipe for this bread appears somewhat similar to the gluten free chocolate muffins I posted yesterday, but it totally deserves its own post. To me, the flavor and texture of this banana bread are out of this world. It’s like something you’ve never tasted before, but once you experience it, you want to keep eating nonstop.

My friends have even asked me if I put some sort of magical ingredient in here. Luckily, the ingredients are simple and extraordinary on their own:) I’ve already made this bread twice this week. It’s a good thing that I ran out of bananas…or I’d be likely to bake it again.

Buckwheat Banana Bread (Gluten Free)

modified from Happy Healthy Life – Triple Banana-Dark Chocolate-Peanut Buckwheat-Banana Bread

3 large bananas, mashed (can also substitute pumpkin or sweet potato puree for some of the banana)
1/3 cup agave (or maple syrup, honey)
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground flax seeds
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup pecans (or any nut), roughly chopped

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a bread loaf pan with parchment paper or grease with coconut oil.
Add bananas to a large mixing bowl and mash very well. Add in the melted coconut oil, vinegar, vanilla extract, and agave.
Fold in the flours, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, flax seeds. Stir well to form a very thick batter. Add in the chocolate chips and 1/3 cup of pecans. Pour this mixture into the loaf pan and smooth out the top with a spoon. Sprinkle the remainder of the pecans on top.
Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Cool the loaf before slicing and serving. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Chocolate Everything Muffins

I bought some buckwheat flour the other day, and I’m hooked. It adds an amazing nuttiness to breads and muffins that I’ve never experienced before. Combine that with some oat flour, bananas, chocolate, and other delicious flavors, and you have a killer gluten free muffin:)

I’m a total novice in the gluten free baking world, so I’ve been searching my favorite food blogs for inspiration. This one is based off a recipe from Edible Perspective, and I’m pretty obsessed with it. These muffins are super moist, dense, and filled with chocolatley goodness. Luckily, they’re still pretty healthy for you:) Hope you enjoy!

Gluten Free Chocolate Everything Muffins
modified from Edible Perspective – ‘Triple Chocolate Quick Bread’

Muffins:
2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk + 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 ripe banana, mashed
3/4 cup pumpkin puree (or sweet potato puree)
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons agave (or maple syrup, honey)
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1 1/3 cup gluten-free oat flour
1/2 cup almond meal
6 tablespoons buckwheat flour
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon ground flax meal
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate

Crumble:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats
3 tablespoons coconut oil, softened
2 tablespoons gluten-free oat flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
pinch of salt

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Grease your muffin pan cups with coconut oil or use muffin liners.

Whisk the milk and apple cider vinegar in a bowl and let sit for 10 minutes. (We’re making some almond milk buttermilk!)

Whisk all wet ingredients in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. Add the dry ingredients on top of the wet and stir until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Combine all of the crumble ingredients in another bowl.

Pour the batter into the muffin cups and sprinkle the crumble mixture overtop. This recipe made about 18 normal sized muffins for me.

Bake for 18-22 minutes until the center is set and the top is golden and crumbly. Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. Then carefully remove and transfer them to a cooling rack. Let cool another 10 minutes are so, and they are ready to eat!

Aunt Sallie’s Orange Cookies

As it tends to do, med school fully took over my life these past couple of weeks. I’ve been meaning to write this post for too long, and I’m happy to be back!

This orange cookie is one of my dad’s signature treats and a must-bake during the holidays. (Or any other time of the year when he and my brother are craving them.) As you can tell from our previous recipes, we really do have a abundance of citrus around the house during the winter months! Spring better be on its way because we’re using up the last of our winter citrus to make Aunt Sallie’s orange cookies:)

This light and fluffy cookie is smothered with a sweet, yet tangy icing. To make sure the orange flavor comes through, the cookie and icing contain both orange juice and zest. We’re not messin’ around here! At family gatherings and celebrations, these beauties are loved (and expected) by aunts and cousins on both sides of the family. Continue reading Aunt Sallie’s Orange Cookies