Peppermint Hot Chocolate (Vegan & Refined Sugar Free)

Hey hey friends! This recipe is so long overdue. I discovered this peppermint hot chocolate in early December and it was holiday perfection! It packs the perfect peppermint punch and just the right amount of chocolate. Onto the recipe, shall we? I made these all through the holiday season and I just haven't been able to stop. I still make myself a peppermint hot chocolate almost weekly! It is such a cozy little treat to have at the end of a busy day. Onto the recipe, shall we?

The recipe that I'm sharing below makes 2 hot chocolates (I'm sure you can stretch it to make 3 smaller hot chocolates if needed). You can double, triple or even halve this recipe as you need.

Strawberry Rhubarb Bars (Gluten Free, Vegan & Refined Sugar Free)

I have been on the hunt for a good gluten free, vegan & refined sugar free crumble recipe for what feels like forever. I have tried SO many recipes and they always come out just okay. My family loves fruit crumbles, so I have continued my searched and just recently discovered the perfect recipe. And, I don’t say that lightly. We are picky with our crumbles but this one is absolute perfection.

Every year, my grandma brings me rhubarb fresh from her garden and my favorite thing to do with rhubarb is mix it with strawberries and make a crumble! Rhubarb is tart, so it balances perfectly with the sweetness from the strawberries. I’ve deemed it my personal mission in life to create food that caters to food sensitivities without tasting like it does. Do you know what I mean? I have tried so many gluten free things and thought meh it’s pretty good considering it’s gluten free. I want my desserts to taste delicious not considering they’re gluten free or dairy free or whatever they might be free from. I want them to just be good.

That is so the case with these strawberry rhubarb bars. They taste great because they’re darn good. No one would ever guess that they are free from gluten, dairy, eggs and refined sugar! The roots of this recipe are from Heartbeat Kitchen. I used the base of her recipe but modified it to create my own spin on this fabulous treat!

Apple Cider Doughnuts (Gluten Free, Vegan & Refined Sugar Free)

I have had a serious hankering for doughnuts lately. Like, scrolling through Pinterest, looking at pictures of doughnuts hankering. We used to make killer homemade doughnuts, but then I quit gluten, dairy, eggs and sugar. And, as a result I had to ditch doughnuts. Two weeks ago, I would have told you that I was fine and not missing doughnuts. That is, until I realized I was looking up doughnut recipes almost every day - ha! I wish I was joking.

I stumbled upon this recipe from Mama Knows Gluten Free on Friday and I just knew I had to make these doughnuts! I ran out to get a doughnut pan from our local kitchen store (because these doughnuts are baked and not fried) then got to work! You can find the original recipe HERE, but keep scrolling to find out how I made these fabulous doughnuts!

Maple Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

These cookies are everything. By far the best gluten free & vegan cookies I have ever had. I found this recipe on Sarah Bakes Gluten Free's blog and I was intrigued. My family loves roasted pecans, so I knew these cookies would get a lot of love in my house. That being said, I was super apprehensive about how these cookies would turn out. The ingredient list just looked strange to me. But, it worked so well! These cookies have everything a good cookie has - crispy edges with a chewy center, great flavor and a little crunch!

If you are gluten free and or vegan, you need to give these cookies a try! The ingredient list is so darn simple - you won't have to go looking for any obscure ingredients. They're completely allergen friendly and their refined sugar free! You can find the original recipe HERE, but I will detail how I made the cookies below.

Thin Mints (Gluten Free, Vegan & Refined Sugar Free)

These cookies come with a bit of a story - my Mom has long loved Girl Guide cookies. She has never been a fan of cookies that aren't homemade (and she passed down her cookie snobbery to me! I'm a sucker for homemade cookies) but she has always loved Thin Mint Girl Guide cookies. When setting out to get her a Christmas gift this year, I wanted to find a way to make her gluten free thin mint cookies, so I began my research!

I read through many blogs and reviews until I found what seemed to be the best of the best. Cara Reed's copycat thin mint cookies (made gluten free, vegan & refined sugar free!) get ridiculously good reviews. People were writing crazy things like "These copycat thin mints are better than the original." What!? I needed to get my hands on this recipe. After doing a bit more research, I decided to go ahead and buy her whole cookbook. And, I'm so glad I did! These Thin Mint Cookies are spectacular but so is everything else we have baked from her cookbook!

I am so happy to report that we all voted these copycat thin mint cookies better than the originals too! We were expecting the cookies to turn out good and they still managed to exceed our expectations - they're that good! They have the most perfect crunch and they pack a ton of flavour and crunch! You can find the original recipe HERE.

Ginger Cookies (Gluten Free, Vegan & Refined Sugar Free)

Though my Dad loves all desserts, he is especially fond of spicy-sweet desserts. He used to love speculaas cookies - which are a sort of spicy biscuit. But, they are loaded gluten, dairy and refined sugar (as most cookies are)! Since our big food elimination last year, we have been on the lookout for a good spice cookie aand I am so happy to be sharing a fabulous one today!

When my Mom opened Cara Reed's cookbook on Christmas morning, we were all excited about different recipes - my Mom wanted biscotti and Thin Mints, I wanted chocolate chip cookies and my Dad wanted spice cookies. He even made an intriguing case for trying these cookies before gifting the book to my Mom. Just write down the recipe, she doesn't need to know where it came from he said. I talked him into holding off until after Christmas, but he finally got his spice cookies and they were so worth the wait! These cookies are so perfectly crispy and full of flavor! I don't drink coffee, but my Dad says these pair great with a coffee!

The recipe is on page 44 of Cara Reed's Decadent Gluten Free and Vegan Cookbook. I stuck to the original recipe and it worked out great!

Pecan Sandies (Gluten Free, Vegan & Refined Sugar Free]

I whipped up these cookies a couple of weeks ago. And, I chose the word whipped on purpose - these actually come together fast! They're gluten free, dairy free, egg free and refined sugar free but you would never know! These cookies call for easy ingredients and they come together with very little fuss! If you are looking for an easy peasy dessert that are allergen friendly, this recipe is for you!

The recipe is on page 19 of Cara Reed's Decadent Gluten Free & Vegan Cookbook. You can find the book HERE (if you are looking for a great GF & vegan cookbook, I highly, highly recommend this book!).

Before we get into the actual recipe, I need to share Cara's GF flour blend. We have tried these cookies 2 ways - once with America's Test Kitchen GF flour blend and once with Cara's GF flour blend. And even though I normally swear by ATK's flour blend, these cookies are far better with Cara's flour!

Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake (Vegan, Gluten Free and Sugar Free)

I had every intention of sharing a little peak into our Christmas decor and some holiday gift ideas this week but exams took over - ugh! Exams really took over my week but that all ends today! I have my last exam this evening then it's all Christmas, all the time for me! I have lots of Christmas presents to make, some holiday cards to address and some time scheduled with some of my favorite girlfriends to celebrate the season and I am so looking forward to all of it!

So, a quick recipe to share today before I head out to right the last exam of my Bachelor's (!!!) and it's a good one! Last week, I shared a recipe for that divine double chocolate bundt cake and today, I'm sharing a recipe for a fabulous cinnamon swirl bundt cake. When it came to choosing a favorite, we were a divided house. We could not reach a unanimous decision about which bundt cake is better because they are both that good! This recipe is also from Sarah Bakes Gluten Free and you can find the original HERE. I will detail how I made this cake below.

Before we get to the recipe, I should quickly mention that this is an 'everything free' cake. I've started calling my allergen safe baking 'everything free' because they really are free of everything! This cake is free of gluten, eggs, dairy and refined sugar.

Double Chocolate Bundt Cake (Gluten Free, Vegan & Refined Sugar Free)

Remember when I posted these Espresso brownies, I suggested you cancel all your plans for the day and stay home to make brownies? I'm going to make that same recommendation today because this cake is so darn good. I was a little cautious with my excitement for this cake - I didn't trust that it would turn out as good as it did. It's 'everything free' for goodness sake! It turns out a cake with no gluten, no dairy, no eggs, and no refined sugar can be just as fabulous as regular cake!

This cake got big love in my house and I think what took it over the edge is the fact it's a bundt cake. For some reason, my crew loves a good bundt cake. I don't know what it is about bundt cakes but they get significantly more love than regular cakes around here. AND! This cake is double chocolate, which just makes my heart sing! I adore chocolate anything. I've always been a chocolate girl so this cake is checking all the right boxes for me.

This recipe comes from a blog called Sarah Bakes Gluten Free, you can find it HERE. I loved this recipe so much, I'm planning to try some of her other recipes! I followed the bundt cake recipe exactly but I didn't put the glaze on the cake. I love, love, love icing but in an effort to cut back on sugar, I left out the frosting. Ok, onto the recipe!

Espresso Fudge Brownies (gluten free, vegan & refined sugar free)

These brownies are little pieces of heaven. They are the best brownies I have ever had - even better than brownies with gluten and dairy & refined sugar, I promise! That being said, I highly recommend you cancel all of your plans for the day and stay home to make these brownies. This from a girl who doesn't like coffee. Coffee is not my thing, but somehow, these brownies are so my thing! The coffee flavor is not as strong as I was expecting - it's there but it's subtle. These brownies are the perfect combination of chocolate and coffee.

When the Bean finished her brownie she asked "can I have another one?" to which my Dad said "Oh I hope so because that means I can have another one!" Everyone was asking for seconds! These brownies are that good! The recipe is from a blog called Vanilla and Bean (cute, right?); you can find the original HERE.

Pecan, Caramel & Chocolate Chip Cookies (Vegan, Gluten Free & Sugar Free!)

So much to talk about before we get into today's post! First of all... That song that I posted on Monday by Janelle Monae is such a jam! I have been listening all week long! In fact, I'm listening to it as I write this post and resisting the urge to have a dance break every 10 seconds! It's that good! You can read that post HERE & maybe have a little solo dance party!

Second - Happy November, friends!! The holiday season is so close, I can taste it and I am beyond excited! The Hallmark Christmas movies have already started airing and I am all about them! I have my DVR set to record them daily and I can't wait to sit down and watch some of them! As soon as Halloween ends, I am in full Christmas mode! How soon is too soon to start posting Christmas music?

Ok! On to the recipe for the day! I made these cookies last week and they were so good, I made them again over the weekend! You would never know these are gluten free, vegan and sugar free. They taste just like real cookies! My family loved these cookies but to really test them, I brought them to some friends, to my boss, to my skating coach and they got rave reviews all around! Even if you don't have food restrictions, these make a great healthier option to a traditional cookie!

This recipe is from Oh She Glows, you can find it HERE. The first time I made these cookies, I followed the recipe to a T. Then, I made some adjustments based on personal preference. I will share how I made the recipe, but if you would like an alternative, check out Oh She Glows for an alternative.

Caramel Apple Bites (Vegan & Refined Sugar Free!)

I had a different post scheduled for today, but I moved everything around because I just had to share this recipe today! One of my favorite Fall treats are caramel apples. I love a tart Granny Smith apple coated in sweet caramel. I was so excited to experiment with this sugar free version of a caramel apple by making a caramel out of dates!

I love that these caramel apple bites are refined sugar free and I love that they are significantly less messy than traditional caramel apples (ie. whole apples on a stick). I was able to prep all the ingredients and the Bean put everything together. I got everything set up for her in about 15 minutes and then she got to decorate her heart out. Easy peasy!

Making this date caramel is easy as can be - pack a half cup with pitted dates. Put the dates in the food processor. Add in 4 Tablespoons of water, 4 Tablespoons of coconut milk and 1/8 teaspoon of vanilla. Process until smooth and caramel like.

Once the caramel is processed, you may choose to add a little more coconut milk to make the caramel smoother. I recommend adding a half Tablespoon at a time. 

Blueberry Crumble (Gluten Free, Vegan & Refined Sugar Free)

Today is back to school for me! And it's the first time in 3+ years that I haven't had a day off in my schedule which makes me want to up and throw a fit! Okay I'm exaggerating! I can tolerate having a full schedule for 13 weeks! I just keep telling myself, it's just 13 weeks and then my schedule will ease up. But for now, between school, work and skating, I have somewhere to be every single day of the week. Yikes! I will do my best to keep up with my blog, but I might take a day off here or there just to catch up real life things.

My recipe for today, is actually one that I made a couple of weeks ago! There's been so much going on, that I haven't sat down to share an actual recipe in a while! This is a good one too! I'm so glad to finally share it! We still have blueberries in our freezer from when we went blueberry picking, and they made the most perfect crumble! Alright, blueberry crumble sans gluten, eggs, dairy and refined sugar here we go!

Blueberry Cinnamon Buns

This recipe has been a long time coming! We went blueberry picking over a week ago, but then I went deep into the last minute party planning for my Dad's 50th so I'm only getting around to posting this recipe now! And I am darn excited about it! It's a fun one! I found this recipe on a blog called Petite Allergy Treats.

I do want to note a couple of things before getting into the recipe - First, I was careful to use ingredients that best fit my family's needs. I love that this recipe is super flexible in that way! If you are gluten free, go ahead and use gluten free flour, but if not, stick to regular flour! Same this with milk - I opted to use coconut milk, but if you aren't dairy free, stick to regular milk! You can adjust this recipe to fit your needs!

And second, my cinnamon buns didn't rise as much as I was expecting them to. I'm thinking somewhere along the way, the gluten free & dairy free ingredients affected the rise. I was really bummed thinking they hadn't turned out but they were still delicious! So, aesthetically I was a little disappointed with the result of this recipe but taste wise, they totally delivered! They made the most perfect breakfast treat after blueberry picking!

Potato Chip & Pretzel Dark Chocolate Bark

This is a recipe I searched for when we were putting a gift together for my Auntie Norma's birthday. Norma is the queen of chips - she would choose a bowl of chips over a sweet treat any day! While we were at the beach, I asked her if she's ever met a chip she doesn't like and she said once! We got her a couple bags of chips, but we wanted to incorporate chips in a more creative way into her gifts! So we made some bark with potato chips on it! Here is our recipe...

Start by melting to cups of chocolate (or 24 oz). We used dark chocolate to go for a more bitter taste. However, you could use milk chocolate instead! Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. While the chocolate is melting line a baking sheet with parchment paper (I used my silicone baking mats instead). Once the chocolate is melted, pour it onto the parchment paper. Spread it out as evenly as possible - it should be about 1/4 inch thick.

Baking with the Bean: Brownies (Gluten Free, Vegan & Refined Sugar Free!)

I'm handing this post over to the Bean because she made these killer brownies on Monday! I'm so glad she is deciding to share the recipe because these brownies were fabulous! The Bean doesn't always love baking. She much prefers to stir while I bake. But with a stroke of fierce independence she made these and they were perfect! The Bean has taken over my blog a couple of times but she's never posted a recipe before. So without further ado, here is Miss Bean and her very first recipe!

Hi guys! It's the Bean. I like this recipe because it works with all of my family's problems. I say that lightly. They aren't actually problems, just a lot of food intolerances that are sometimes hard to work around. My family is pretty much completely gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free. It can be tough to find recipes that cater to all these needs, so these brownies were perfect. AND they taste like REAL brownies, so that's a plus. This recipe is from Beaming Baker. You can find the original recipe HERE.

Chocolate Cream Pie

On Monday morning I woke up with a serious hankering to bake. I bake way less often than I used to and sometimes I really miss it. I woke up, made breakfast quickly and ate breakfast while I was baking. So out of character for me! I love to sit and chill while I'm eating, but not on Monday! I was ready to start my day and apparently ready to start my day with pie! This pie is so easy to make (like beyond easy!) and it was absolutely delicious! I was a little apprehensive because so little goes into it, but the end product is phenomenal! It's practically chocolate heaven - a crunchy chocolate crust with a mousse like filling!

I could brag on this pie all day long, but I should also mention that its gluten free, vegan and refined sugar free! I don't know if I would call this pie healthy but there are definitely much worse things you could eat! I was so impressed that while being completely free from allergens this pie is still spectacular! The recipe is from a blog called Feasting on Fruit (which I completely identify with! Especially in these summer months! I've been eating all the fruit!). You can find the original recipe HERE.

Coconut Milk Cinnamon Ice Cream (Dairy Free & Refined Sugar Free)

One of my favorite summer treats is Ice Cream. Back in February, when I stopped eating gluten, dairy, sugar I was already dreading a summer without ice cream. Although, like most things, it turns out that I had nothing to worry about! True, I might be able to frequent cute little ice ream shops like I used to. But there are so many fun homemade ice cream recipe that make eating dairy free & refined sugar free so do-able!

I have seen so many recipes that use frozen banana, avocado or soaked cashews to make the ice cream and I'm looking forward to trying some of those out as well! This recipe in particular uses coconut milk to make the most delicious dairy free cinnamon ice cream! I found this recipe on a blog called Eat Healthy, Eat Happy and I pinned it knowing it would be a big hit in my house! The process was surprisingly simple, minus one little speed bump - but I will give you the run down on all of that a little later!

This recipe does require an ice cream machine. We have always had an ice cream machine so I opted to use this recipe. If you don't have an ice cream machine, there are many dairy free ice cream recipes that don't leave you reliant on a machine! I plan to experiment and share some recipe that so not require an ice cream machine soon!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble (Vegan, Gluten Free & Refined Sugar Free)

I had two fun recipes to choose between when posting today - a Quinoa Bruschetta Casserole and a Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble. I had the hardest time deciding which to share first! Ultimately, I decided to go with the crumble because I think dessert first makes life a little sweeter! So, first this fun dessert and next Tuesday I share a delicious main dish! This strawberry rhubarb crumble recipe is from a blog called Texanerin, you can find it HERE.

I have shared many strawberry rhubarb treats before - classic strawberry rhubarb pie, strawberry rhubarb bars, gluten free strawberry rhubarb crumble and strawberry rhubarb heart shaped hand pies (so perfect for Valentine's day!)! Can you tell that I love strawberry rhubarb? So why more, you might be asking. Since cutting gluten, dairy and sugar, I have really been craving a strawberry rhubarb treat and I recently discovered the most perfect recipe! This strawberry rhubarb crumble is gluten free, refined sugar free and vegan and it's super easy to make! There aren't any crazy obscure ingredients and it comes together really easily! If you do not have any food restrictions, I highly recommend checking out some of my old recipes. But if you have some sensitivities, I recommend this new recipe because it was fabulous!

Turtle Cookies (Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free & Vegan)

One of my favorite recipes to brag on as of lately is Snicker's Pie. If you read often, you're probably sick of hearing me go on about Snicker's Pie. Well, good news! I found a new recipe to obsess over! These turtle cookies are SO easy to put together (even easier than Snicker's Pie!), they don't require any bake time and they are allergen safe! Score!

These cookies are such a delicious pairing of a nutty chocolate base with a caramel filling sprinkled with some crushed pecans and drizzled with a little dark chocolate. I didn't really know what to expect but I loved them! They were a big hit all around in my house! Even the Bean thought they were yummy and she isn't always a fan of my gluten free/sugar free/dairy free ventures!

This recipe is from a darling little blog called From My Bowl. You can find it HERE. I have been browsing through several of her other recipes and I can't wait to try them out! I have my eye on the vegan and gluten free key lime pie! Let's get on to the recipe, shall we?