Quick Maple Pecan Cinnamon Scrolls

* This recipe includes support for Paprika * 

Cinnamon scrolls are a favourite breakfast at Christmas time in our family. Usually I'll make a batch of yeast dough scrolls and freeze or refrigerate them unbaked, then thaw and bake them on Christmas morning. I'll be explaining more about that in the next post. But if you're wanting a quick, yeast-free version, this is a great one to try. It'll only take you about an hour from start to finish. A word of warning, though - this recipe is a little bit naughty! LOTS of butter and rapadura... But it is Christmas - that's my excuse! ;-)

For a dairy free version, you could try ghee if you can have it; or use macadamia oil in the dough, and coconut cream on the rolled out dough instead of melted butter. It won't be quite as caramelly and sticky, but still good.

Okay, keeping this short as I've been trying to get this posted for two days, and I'd better hurry up before there's a riot on Facebook!!

Oh, and speaking of my Facebook page, there are now over 10,000 of you following!! WOW! So thank you to all who follow and contribute to the discussions - I learn so much and really enjoy hearing from you all. ❤

Quick Cinnamon Scrolls

*This recipe has Paprika support*

Preheat oven to 220C. Grease a 24 cm springform tin with butter and set aside. (Or you can use ghee or coconut oil, or baking paper.)

1. Prepare filling - mix together first five ingredients on speed 5 for 5 seconds - then set aside.

- 100g Rapadura
- 100g pecans or walnuts
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 Tbspn butter

2. Mix dry ingredients on speed 8 for 6 seconds to 'sift'.

- 450g plain, unbleached spelt flour (not wholemeal)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt

3. Add wet ingredients and mix on speed 6 for 6 seconds, then on interval speed for 20 seconds. (Don't forget to lock the lid, or interval speed won't work!)

- 200g almond or rice-almond milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (helps with rising)
- 80g soft butter
- 80g pure maple syrup

4. Sprinkle silicon dough mat (or counter top) with a light dusting of flour, and turn dough out of bowl. Give it a quick, gentle knead to form a ball, then press out gently with your hands to form a rectangle about 1 1/2 cms thick.

5. Melt butter. Spread 2 tbspns over dough and sprinkle with filling, leaving a 1 cm border around the edges.

- 4 Tbspns melted butter (Note: Reserve 2 tbspns for topping. Can be melted in tmx at 100C for 30 seconds or so, speed 1.)
- prepared filling

6. Roll up the dough into a log shape, lift carefully, and place on a cutting board. (If the dough is too sticky, roll it up in the bread mat and place in the fridge or freezer to chill until firmer and easier to handle.)

7. Cut the rolled up dough into scrolls with a large serrated knife, making the slices 2-3 cms thick. Place them in the prepared springform tin, bunched up together, cut side up. Drizzle with remaining 2 tbspns melted butter.

8. Place in hot oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

9. While scrolls are cooking, make the maple glaze. Place ingredients in Thermomix bowl and cook at 100C for 2 minutes, speed 1.

- 50g pure maple syrup (or Rapadura)
- 50g coconut cream (or regular cream)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

10. When scrolls are cooked, drizzle over the glaze. Serve warm.

Keep in an airtight container for a couple of days. Best eaten on day of baking. (That shouldn't be a problem. Ha ha!!)

This recipe inspired by my mum and sister's recipes, this one from Bakingdom,

and my own version, all rolled into one. :)

Sticky Pecan Muffins

This morning I managed to get up before everyone else, so I decided to make something a bit special for breakfast. I found this recipe here, and tweaked it to make it healthier and Thermomix friendly. This is what I came up with. It's almost dairy free - there's 1 tablespoon of butter in the caramel topping - but you could use coconut cream instead to make it completely dairy free. I didn't have any coconut cream left, so I just used butter. It only uses 1/2 a cup of flour - I used spelt flour, but I'm sure it would work fine with plain gluten free flour or almond flour as well.

Here's a time-saving tip: when you're making cakes or muffins that have chopped nuts in them, don't bother chopping the nuts first, just add the whole nuts with all the other ingredients and chop and stir all at once on speed 4-5 for a few seconds. If you have a look at the original recipe, you'll notice I cut the steps down from 5 steps to 1 step for the muffin mixture. Yep, I like 1-step recipes. Well, okay, the caramel topping is another step or two, but it's easy as. And really delicious, so don't leave it off!

I'm really happy with the way these muffins turned out using macadamia oil instead of butter - the texture is perfect. For those of you wanting to convert your own muffin recipes for the Thermomix, just remember you have to be really careful not to overmix, or you'll have heavy, dense muffins. Notice that I only mix these for a few seconds, scrape down the bowl, and gently mix for another few seconds - that's it! Don't beat all the air out of them. You could use this basic mixture for all sorts of muffins - blueberry-pecan is next on the list for me I think!

Makes 12 large muffins.

Preheat oven to 180C. Generously butter (or oil) a 12-cup muffin pan (or madeleine tin).

1. Chop pecans on speed 4 for a couple of seconds, just until roughly chopped:

- 70g raw pecans

    Remove to a bowl.

2. Melt in Thermomix at 100C for 2 minutes at speed 1, or until just melted and combined:

- 3 Tbspns Rapadura

- 2 Tbspns honey

- 1 Tbspn butter or coconut cream

3. Spoon 1 Tablespoon of caramel mixture into each muffin cup.

Add a sprinkling of chopped pecans, and set aside.

No need to wash out Thermomix bowl.

4. Add all remaining ingredients to Thermomix bowl and mix on speed 4 for 6 seconds; scrape down sides of bowl and mix for another 5 seconds on speed 3 to combine.

- 130g raw pecans

- 110g macadamia oil

- 80g Rapadura

- 80g spelt flour (or gluten free or almond flour)

- 3 large eggs (55-60g each)

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 1/2 tsp sea salt

5. Divide mixture evenly between muffin cups. Bake for about 20 minutes at 180C, or until skewer poked into centre of muffins comes out clean.

Enjoy! I'm off to sneak the last one now that the kids have gone to bed...

Waffle Iron Brownies

 

Waffle Iron Brownies (gluten free version)

with Dairy Free Chocolate Sauce (recipe below)

 

This is just a quick post to share a recipe that's an old favourite in our chocolate-loving home... Waffle Iron Brownies! I can't remember where I first came across this recipe, but I've converted it to a healthier version, and I make the batter in my Thermomix.

Now and then we have these for breakfast for a special treat - or for afternoon tea when we feel like cake and there's nothing baked. These are very quick to make, so if you have a sudden influx of hungry children on the holidays, remember this recipe. Our kids love to break the waffles up into little hearts, drizzle them with cashew cream or maple syrup - or sometimes chocolate sauce for a special treat - and run off with one in each hand. Or maybe two in each hand if they can get away with it!

I make these with either spelt flour or gluten free flour. I use this gluten free flour mix here when making them gluten free. They turn out a little less crunchy, but still delicious.

Waffle Iron Brownies

1. Melt and mix at 100 degrees, 2 minutes, speed 3:
- 110g butter or coconut oil
- 30g organic cocoa (or raw cacao powder)

2. Add and mix on speed 5 for 10 seconds:
- 100g Rapadura
- 40g water
- 2 eggs

3. Add and mix on speed 4-5 for 10 seconds, depending on how finely chopped you like the nuts:
- 50g pecan nuts (optional)
- 170g unbleached white spelt flour (or gluten free flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

4. Heat waffle iron, oil if necessary, and drop a couple of big blobs of batter onto hot iron, so that when it spreads out it will cover the surface of the iron. Close quickly and allow to cook until browned.

5. Serve with cashew cream or pure maple syrup. Or for a special treat, some homemade chocolate sauce and cashew cream!

Quick, dairy-free chocolate sauce:

Cook in Thermomix - 2 mins, 60 degrees, speed 2:

- 30g coconut oil or butter

- 80g-120g dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate broken in pieces (depending on how thick and chocolatey you like it!)

- 30g rice malt syrup (or honey)

- 30g rice-almond milk (or other milk)

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

Use more or less chocolate depending on how thick you like your sauce. Once it's cold, it will set to a chocolate spread consistency, and you can eat the leftovers on toast like nutella.

Grain Free Sultana Spice Bread

Did you know that if you're suffering from bloating, fibromyalgia, headaches, exhaustion, hay fever, sinus problems, brain fog and weight problems it could very well be all the bread you're eating? I know that when I eat a lot of bread, I have less energy, and my allergies start playing up - even if it's my healthy, homemade, low gluten breads. So I try not to over do it with bread.

Today I decided we needed to be a bit more proactive about getting rid of the coughs, colds and sniffles that have been plaguing our family lately! Our yearly youth camp is coming up in a week and a half, and it would be awful if the kids were sick for that. And I can't afford to be sick either as I'm cooking at camp... So for the next two weeks, breads and most grains, all dairy, and most sugars will be strictly off limits! (I'll still use some natural sweeteners like raw honey, dates, a little rapadura, pure maple syrup, and stevia, but will cut down on them.) And of course we'll be avoiding additives, preservatives and colours as usual.

I've asked on my Quirky Cooking Facebook Page if anyone else wants to join me in getting rid of breads, dairy and refined sugars for two weeks, to see if it makes a difference for them too. We're going to share our menus each day, and hopefully recipes too, to help inspire each other. Do any of you want to join us?

Here's what we had today:

Breakfast: Boiled jacket potatoes (organic) with homemade mayo; fruit

Morning Tea: Fruit salad with berry sorbet

Lunch: Leftover pasta e fagioli warmed up in the varoma (it was made with rice & corn pasta, but we needed to finish it off)

Afternoon Tea: Grain free sultana spice bread (recipe below!) and strawberries (loving strawberry season!)

Dinner: Grain free, dairy free lasagne and coleslaw with homemade mayo

The lasagne was a hit! Instead of pasta, I used thinly sliced eggplant, as I had a few in my vege box. I salted them, let them sit for a while in the Varoma, rinsed them, then steamed them in the Varoma while the bolognese sauce was cooking in the Thermomix bowl.

Once it was all cooked (about 25 mins) I layered the eggplant and bolognese sauce in a baking dish and topped it with a dairy free 'cheese' sauce, made from 500g rice-almond milk, 2 Tblspns (or so) nutritional yeast flakes, 30g macadamia oil, 1 tsp vege stock paste and 40g cornflour - cooked at 90 degrees for 7 mins, speed 4. Then I popped it in the oven, turned oven on to 180, and dashed out the door to a demo! When I got home there was only the tiniest bit left (2 litres of bolognese sauce and 3 eggplants, plus 'cheese' sauce!!)... Apparently the kids LOVED it! So we'll definitely be having that one again. :) (By the way, they did leave me a little bit, and I loved it too!)

Anyway, if you'd like to share some grain free, dairy free, naturally sweetened ideas (or check out others' ideas), please come on over to my facebook page. The more the merrier! :)

How to make Grain Free Sultana Spice Bread
This bread is based on the Pecan Bread I made a few weeks ago. Spicy, naturally sweetened and delicious, even without any butter!

1. Grind up in Thermomix on speed 8 for 10 seconds:

- 200g raw almonds

2. Add the pecans and chop on speed 5 for 6 seconds:
- 120g raw pecans (or use hazelnuts for a low salicylate version)
   Remove the ground nuts to a bowl and set aside.

3. Place in the Thermomix bowl the following ingredients, and mix on speed 6 for 10 seconds:
- 60g coconut butter
- 1 apple, quartered (no need to peel)
- 5 large (or 4 very large) free range eggs
- 50g macadamia oil (or grapeseed, or other light oil)
- 1 tbspn lemon juice (or 2 tsp apple cider vinegar)
- 3/4 tsp bicarb soda
- pinch of fine sea salt
- 1 Tblspn ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 50g raw honey (optional)

4. Scrape down sides and add the ground nuts back in to the mixture, with the sultanas, and mix for a few more seconds on speed 6:
- 100g sultanas

5. Pour into the lined tin and bake at 160 degrees for an hour or so, until risen and browned; a skewer poked down into the centre of the bread will come out clean when it's ready.

6. Let the bread cool for 10 minutes before removing carefully from the tin. Pull it up with the paper so you don't break it. It will firm up as it cools.

Note: If you won't use it within a day or two, it can be sliced thinly, frozen in loose layers, then when completely frozen, wrapped and kept frozen to use a slice at a time.

We'll be having what's left as toast for breakfast, with some homemade strawberry jam. Yum!

Flourless Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Need a chocolate fix? Well hold onto your tastebuds, these chocolate pecan cookies will knock your socks off!! 

I got the idea for these cookies from a recipe for 'brownie cookies' that used wheat flour, but I decided to try ground pecans instead. I'm always looking for ways to make gluten free (or even grain free), dairy free treats that are even better than their original wheat and dairy counterparts... I love pecans and chocolate together, and I was hoping the pecans would give these a chewy 'brownie' texture. They did!  I also changed the sugar to Rapadura, which gives them a richer flavour, and is of course better for you than refined sugar.

I promised to post this recipe ages ago, but I needed some photos, so today my daughter Cassia helped me make these again. (She loves to use the Thermomix, and is always quite happy to pose for photos.) I also invited my Quirky Cooking Facebook friends to join in the baking fun! A few of us baked 'together' via the internet, exchanging hints and tips as we cooked. (Check out some of their tips and variations below the recipe.) We'll have to do some cooking together again via Facebook - it was a lot of fun!

So here's the recipe - please let me know how you like it in the comments below. Recipe makes about 40 cookies.

1. Chop for 8 seconds on speed 6:

- 220g dairy free dark chocolate, broken in pieces (I use Lindt 70% cocoa - it's dairy free; or you could make your own!)

2. Melt chocolate at 50 degrees for 3 minutes on speed 1.

3. Add and mix for 20 seconds, speed 8:

- 150g pecans

- 3 eggs

- 1 tsp dry, instant coffee (or raw cacao powder)

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 120g Rapadura

- 1/4 tsp sea salt

- 1/4 tsp bicarb soda (opt.)

The mixture will be thick and sticky, not quite as thick as usual cookie dough. Try not to eat all the raw mixture - I know, it's hard!

The raw mixture is soooo yummy!

4. Drop by heaped teaspoonfuls onto lined baking trays and bake at 160 degrees C for about 11-15 minutes, until cookies have risen and cracked slightly. You don't want to overcook them, as they are supposed to be slightly 'gooey' in the centre - just barely baked through! Leave on trays for 5 mins, then remove to cooling rack. They will sink down as they cool and become flatter and chewy. 

If you can manage to keep everyone from scoffing them all straight away, store them in an airtight container in the fridge - they taste delicious cold!

P.S. I think next time I'd better double or triple this recipe!

Tips and Variations:

Phiazy used a mixture of almonds and hazelnuts instead of the pecans - her cookies were a little firmer, and puffed up a little more. She also used a mixture of dark and milk chocolate, and sugar instead of Rapadura (because she didn't have any). Actually, she forgot the sugar in the first batch, but she said they were still yummy (since she didn't use 70% cocoa chocolate, so they were pretty sweet already) - they were just a little flatter. So if you don't use dark, 70% cocoa chocolate, make sure you cut down on the sugar!

Raelene made these the old-fashioned way - she doesn't have a Thermomix (yet!)... She chopped the chocolate, melted it in a double-boiler, got water in it and had to start again, ran out of chocolate and had to go to the shop again, used 100g pecans plus 50g almond meal (but found she needed more almond meal because the mixture was too thin), and used raw sugar because she'd run out of Rapadura - but they still worked! She decided next time she'd use Rapadura plus add some raw cacao powder to make them richer and more chocolatey. Despite her setbacks, Raelene decided these were definitely worth making, and even worth the extra trip to the shop!!

Jessica made these using macadamia nuts instead of pecans - yummo!!

Pink Fruit Cereal

Raw fruit 'cereals' are great for cutting down on grains in your diet, and are very quick and easy to make - perfect for a quick breakfast. And fruit is the perfect breakfast food, as it should really should be eaten on an empty stomach, so it can cleanse and energise your body and get everything moving. The nuts are an important addition as you should always have some protein for breakfast as well - it wakes you up, and keeps your blood sugar levels from dropping too quickly. (If you can't have nuts, add in some seeds instead.)

If you find fruit for breakfast doesn't fill you up enough, at least try and have some fruit before you have your toast and eggs, or whatever you like to eat for breaky. You can use any fruits really, with or without nuts, and add in some seeds and coconut if you like. The blueberries in this one make it a lovely pink colour.  (Should really be blue, don't you think?!)  

This is a great winter breakfast when there's not a lot of different types of fruit around. I also love this one for snacks, when I'm feeling the need for something sweet - it has no added sweeteners, just the fruit, so it's a healthy substitute for cake or bikkies!

Place all the ingredients in the Thermomix bowl, and pulse 3 or 4 times with the Turbo button (with lid in locked position) until it reaches the desired texture:

- 3 apples, quartered (peeled if not organic)

- 1 or 2 bananas, quartered

- a handful or two of frozen blueberries

- a handful of sultanas

- a large handful of pecans

- a handful of shredded coconut

- a drizzle of vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)

(If you want the bananas to be in nice little pieces, chop them by hand and stir them in at the end.  I can't be bothered in the morning!)

Toffee Pecan Crunch Ice Cream (Dairy Free)

Who would believe a dairy-free ice cream could taste this good!

We love our Chocolate Banana Nut ice cream, but I felt like a change today, and I remembered I had some Rapadura toffee leftover in the fridge from when I made the croquembouche the other day... and some pecans in the freezer... so this is what I came up with.  Yum!

If you don't have any toffee lurking in the fridge, this is how you make it...

1. Stir together in a saucepan over medium high heat:

- 1 cup Rapadura

- 1/4 cup water

Stir until granules are dissolved, brushing down insides of pan with a pastry brush dipped in water. Allow syrup to simmer until it's a dark caramel colour and has the consistency of syrup.  Drip a bit into a cup of cool water now and then to check if it's ready - if it forms a crunchy ball of toffee, it's ready; if it spreads out, it's not. (When you lift the spoon out of the syrup and let it drip, you should see a flyaway thread.)  While it's simmering, watch it carefully, and when it's getting close to being ready, TURN DOWN THE HEAT!  Don't let it burn!!!

Pour the hot toffee onto a tray lined with baking paper and leave to cool.  (Just pop it in the freezer if you're in a hurry.)  Crack it into shards with the back of a spoon.

Okay.  Once you've got your toffee ready, you can make your ice cream.

1.  Blend in Thermomix on speed 9 for 30 seconds, or until ice cream comes together in a ball:
- 600g frozen bananas, cut into 1 inch chunks

2.  Throw in and mix for another 10 - 20 seconds on speed 8, depending on how chunky you want it:
- a good handful of toffee pieces
- a good handful of pecans
- a splash of vanilla extract
- a couple of splashes of pure maple syrup
- a pinch of sea salt (I know, sounds weird, but trust me!)

That's it!  Enjoy :)

Chocolate Banana-Nut Ice-Cream

Here's an ice-cream recipe that is very quick and won't make you feel guilty!!!  It's so healthy you can even eat if for breakfast - we do!  It's a great way to get the kids out of bed on a school day - just yell, 'Chocolate ice-cream for breakfast!' and they'll come running.  :)  I always buy a few bags of over-ripe bananas when they're in the throw-out box at the supermarket - just peel them and toss them in a bag and freeze them, then they're ready for ice-cream anytime you want it.  Cut them into pieces about an inch long before processing.

I don't usually measure the amounts in this recipe - it's very flexible.  But I've added approximate amounts (in brackets) for those of you who want them.

If you're looking for somewhere to buy cacao powder or agave syrup, you can buy them either at health food stores, or at online stores such as Loving Earth.

Toss into Thermomix bowl and process on speed 9 until it all comes together - about 30 seconds:

- (500g) half a TM bowl of frozen banana pieces (cut in 1 inch chunks)

- (150g) a good handful or two of raw pecans or macadamia nuts

- (20 - 30g) a couple of heaped tablespoonfuls of cacao powder (or organic cocoa powder)

- (30g) a couple of tablespoons of agave syrup, to taste (or pure maple syrup/raw honey)

(It will be crumbly at first, but keep mixing and it will come together.)

That's it!  Serve it immediately before it melts.  This makes enough for 4 - 6 people.

Note: to make it even more special, you can add some Rapadura sweetened choc chips at the end!

Flourless Pecan Cake (GF, DF)

I'm so excited - I've come up with a really yummy version of my favourite flourless nut cake, and it's completely dairy free and gluten free and naturally sweetened... and very moist and delicious too!!! I've given it the ultimate taste test - I took it to a church supper and gave some to the teenage boys - they are VERY suspicious of anything 'healthy' - especially if it is dairy-free, gluten free and contains no refined sugar. They actually came back for seconds and thirds, and it dissapeared in no time! Afterwards I thought that was a pretty silly thing to do, because now they won't be so wary of my 'health food' and next time there won't be much left for the adults! :)

This is such an easy recipe if you have a Thermomix, or a very powerful blender - you just chuck it all in and blend it up! No mucking around with separating eggs, grinding up sugar, scraping out vanilla beans... a simple, idiot-proof recipe.

BTW, see my original recipe here, as well as some variations such as hazelnut chocolate/coffee cake.

Isn't that a lovely texture?

Okay, enough rambling... here it is!

Place all the ingredients in the Thermomix bowl (or in a powerful blender), and blend on speed 9 for 20 seconds (or until well-blended), scraping down sides if needed:

- 170g raw pecans

- 60g dates

- 60g Rapadura

- 100g coconut cream (just scoop off the thickest cream from the top of the tin of coconut cream, or make your own - it should be thick like thickened dairy cream)

- 1 whole vanilla bean, snipped into 3cm pieces (or use 1 tsp of vanilla extract)

- 4 large eggs

- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

- 1 Tblspn arrowroot flour (or gf cornflour/cornstarch)

- 1 tspn gf baking powder

Tip into lined, 20cm round cake tin, and bake for about 40 minutes at 180 degrees, or until knife inserted in centre comes out clean.

Drizzle with pure maple syrup while still warm. Enjoy!