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Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pancakes

Written on December 17, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Breakfast

This recipe has been a long time coming. I bought a can of pumpkin at the start of November and it’s been sitting in my pantry unused since then. Finally when I realized I didn’t have anything to cook for dinner one night I remembered I had the ingredients for these pancakes and whipped some up.

They were so good I made them again the next morning and took pictures. My only regret is that I didn’t have chocolate chips at the time to mix into the batter. Add some of those and you’d have perfection.

If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice just add a little bit of cinnamon and nutmeg to flavor these. You can also use almond extract in place of the vanilla extract for an interesting flavor.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pancakes

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 2 servings):

1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons chickpea flour
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
3 Tablespoons cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
~1/2 cup water

Method:

Heat a frying pan over a burner set to medium and grease it lightly.
In a large bowl whisk together the chickpea flour, egg, pumpkin, sugar, pumpkin spice, baking soda, and vanilla.
Slowly incorporate the water until the batter is somewhat runny and easy to pour. If the water doesn’t seem to be enough, slowly add more by the Tablespoon.
Pour about 3 Tablespoons of batter into the pan. Flip when the pancake is bubbly and the sides have set to cook the other side. Make sure to cook long enough so that it’s cooked through the center.
Move the cooked pancake to a serving plate and repeat until all the batter is used up.

Make sure to cook the center through even if it looks like they’re starting to burn a little on the outside. Nothing is less appealing than raw chickpea flour. The thinner the pancakes are the easier it is to get an evenly cooked consistency.

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Peanut Butter Buckeyes

Written on December 13, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

Between Christmas shopping, studying, writing papers and taking exams I haven’t had much time to cook or make new recipes lately. The nice thing about having a living room full of Christmas lights, stockings and a tree is it makes it easy to fall back into the holiday spirit after a stressful day.

I made these buckeyes last night for myself and my roommates because who doesn’t love a chocolate and peanut butter nightcap? I have to admit that I’ve made recipes like this often enough that I’ve stopped measuring things as I go along. Really you can make this in any proportion as long as the dough comes out the right consistency. They aren’t the prettiest buckeyes but they’re taste makes up for their appearance.

If you want to change the flavor slightly add a touch of vanilla or cinnamon.

Peanut Butter Buckeyes

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 20 buckeyes):

1 cup creamy peanut butter*
6 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 1/4 cups bittersweet chocolate chips OR 10oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

*If you’re using no-stir peanut butter, melt it in the microwave briefly before mixing it with the other ingredients

Method:

In a large bowl mix together the peanut butter, butter and powdered sugar until it forms a dough that sticks to itself. If for some reason your dough is too thin, slowly add more powdered sugar until it’s workable.
Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place them on a non-stick surface.
Put the peanut butter balls in the freezer to set.
While the peanut butter balls are hardening, melt the chocolate in a microwave or over a double boiler.
One by one dip the peanut butter balls into the melted chocolate to coat their outside and put them back on the non-stick surface.
Refrigerate the peanut butter balls until the chocolate has set. Keep cold until ready to serve.

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Reese’s Pieces Granola

Written on December 10, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Breakfast

My favorite thing about this time of year is going present shopping for friends and family but boy does it eat up a day. After going to several stores and eventually CVS for wrapping paper and tape, I couldn’t help but do some grocery shopping and pick up the bag of Reese’s Pieces that was conveniently on sale.

I’ve made peanut butter granola before and chocolate granola but never chocolate granola with peanut butter. That was an oversight seeing how peanut butter and chocolate has to be the best combination known to man. Just think of Reese’s cups and Fastbreak bars and—of course—Reese’s Pieces. I’m not quite sure if adding candy to granola still makes it breakfast food but it has peanut butter so it must be healthy.

This is a great granola to make if you like granola with clusters since the peanut butter holds the oats together. Just be sure not to break it up too much after it’s done cooking to keep most of the clusters.

Reese’s Pieces Granola

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 3 cups):

2 cup rolled oats
6 Tablespoons peanut butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder
6 Tablespoons to 1/2 cup maple syrup(or any liquid sweetener)
1/2 cup Reese’s Pieces
1/2 cup peanuts(optional)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl mix together the oats, peanut butter, cocoa powder and maple syrup. If the peanut butter you’re using is the no-stir kind, melt it in the microwave briefly before mixing it in.
Spread the oats out onto a non-stick baking tray. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the granola cooks together.
Remove from the oven and break the granola into clusters using a utensil.
Let the granola cool completely before adding in the Reese’s Pieces.
Store in an air-tight container at room temperature.

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Avocado Sour Cream Chip Dip

Written on December 4, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Sauce

Kettle Brand Chips asked 14 bloggers to create a recipe of their favorite holiday dip. My favorite holiday dip is guacamole; I could eat it with a spoon. But too much guacamole can be overpowering on the taste buds, especially at parties when you lose track of how much chips and dip you’ve eaten. Sour cream, on the other hand, has that smooth and clean flavor that lets you dip and dip and dip. I don’t usually like to do sponsored posts, but Kettle Brand Chips is a company I can really get behind. They’re dedicated to using natural ingredients without GMOs and their chips are gluten-free, too. They’re also just delicious; have you tried their Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper flavor? Incredible.

For this recipe I’ve added avocado to a fairly simple sour cream dip. It’s no hassle at all to throw together. The avocado adds a light green color and a rich texture. Even though they’re similar, using both onion powder and fresh chives helps to add layers to the flavor of the dip. I paired this with my favorite flavor of chip, Sea Salt and Vinegar. I think it goes perfectly with the tart flavor of vinegar because the chip lends flavor to the dip while the dip cools the chip down. It would also be incredibly good with any spicy flavor like Jalapeno or Spicy Thai™–anything with a strong saltiness to it. Since there’s very little acidity and seasoning in the dip itself, it’s important to use a chip that will bring that to the table. At the end of this post there’s also a giveaway so be sure to read through!

Avocado Sour Cream Chip Dip

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 8 servings):

1 ripe medium avocado, peeled and pitted
3/4 cup sour cream or low-fat sour cream
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons freshly chopped chives

Method:

In a food processor(or however you’d like to do it), puree the avocado until it’s completely smooth.
Fold together the avocado puree, sour cream, onion powder, salt, and 2 ½ Tablespoons of chopped chives.
Transfer the dip to a serving bowl and garnish with the remaining chives.
Serve with Kettle Brand Chips and veggie crudités

Now it’s your turn to tell me, What is Your favorite holiday dip? Respond to this question with your answer using one of the methods below and you could win a $100 Visa Gift Card!

Rules:

No duplicate comments.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.
Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to respond otherwise a new winner will be selected.
This sweepstakes runs from 11/13-12/31.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment answering what’s your favorite holiday dip?

b) Tweet a public message about this promotion including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry” Leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

The Official Rules are available here.

Be sure to visit the Kettle Brand Chips page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win! Good luck!

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Homemade Chocolate Turtles {+ Giveaway}

Written on November 28, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert, Giveaway

Before Thanksgiving I was thinking of different recipes I could use the American Heritage Chocolate I received on. It’s hard to find old-fashioned recipes that are also gluten-free since I don’t think that was much of a concern in the 18th century. I remembered how much I like old fashioned candy shops and seeing the homemade candies behind a glass case and wanted to try making a favorite: turtles.

I can’t say I went all-out old-fashioned with this recipe because I cheated a little bit and bought wrapped caramels. Learning how to use a candy thermometer well is something I want to do; this didn’t seem like a good time to start practicing, though. Store-bought or not, the end result was delicious and that’s what really matters, right?

Whenever you’re working with high-quality baking chocolate I would suggest melting it over the stove using the double boiler method. Boil water in a small pot and place a fitted bowl on top with the chocolate inside of it, moving the chocolate around to melt it evenly. Chop the chocolate into smaller portions to make it melt faster.

Homemade Chocolate Turtles

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 10 turtles)

1/2 cup whole roasted pecans
12 old fashioned soft caramels, melted*
1 5.13oz American Heritage chocolate block

*I used Trader Joe’s salted old fashioned caramels. Feel free to make your own from scratch if you’re experienced with a candy thermometer.

Method:

Lay the pecans out in clusters on a non-stick, greased surface.
Spoon about a Tablespoon of the melted caramel on top of each pecan cluster.
Over a double boiler, melt the chocolate until it is smooth and shiny.
Spoon just enough chocolate on top of the the clusters to cover most of the caramel and pecans.
Move the turtles into the refrigerator or freezer for 20 minutes to set the chocolate.
Serve and store at room temperature.

Now for the fun part. American Heritage Chocolate wants to give away some of their finely ground chocolate drink and chocolate sticks to 2 US readers. All you have to do is leave a comment for each entry below and I’ll pick the winners Tuesday, December 4th, at midnight.

Leave a comment answering what’s your favorite way to enjoy chocolate?
Follow American Heritage Chocolate on twitter
Follow The Wannabe Chef on twitter
Like the American Heritage Chocolate facebook page
Like The Wannabe Chef on facebook

Good luck!

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Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies {Gluten-Free}

Written on November 26, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

I came home for the holiday weekend on Wednesday night last week. Normally I cook more for the holidays but by the time I arrived most of Thanksgiving dinner had already been planned. I decided to contribute some ad hoc cookies because, well, when are extra cookies ever a bad thing?

I’m usually a purist when it comes to peanut butter cookies using this recipe. However I wanted to try one with flour and butter for a different texture to mix things up. The added ingredients make a cookie that chewy rather than crispy and slightly richer. On top I added a chocolate drizzle for the chocolate lovers in my family(but mostly for myself).

Mixed some chopped peanuts or chocolate chips into the batter before baking these for an extra crunch.

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies {Gluten-Free}

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 18 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 14 cookies):

3/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons creamy or chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 egg
1/4 cup chocolate chips(optional)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
In a large bowl mix together the sugar, flour, and salt.
In a small bowl, melt together the butter and peanut butter and mix.
Pour the melted butter and peanut butter into the flour mixture and mix it together.
Beat in the egg until all of the ingredients form a dough.
Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place them 2-3 inches apart on a greased cookie tray.
Bake for 16-18 minutes until the outside is firm to the touch.
Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely before moving.
Melt down the chocolate chips and drizzle the melted chocolate on top of the cookies.

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Chocolate Pumpkin Baked Custard

Written on November 21, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

It’s no secret that my favorite food group is chocolate. I ~~could~~ eat it every day and was very excited when American Heritage Chocolate approached me and asked if I’d like to do some baking with their chocolate for Thanksgiving. Their company is all about producing authentic 18th century-style chocolate and what better time to celebrate that then during a holiday established by George Washington himself in the 18th century?

They sent me a package of goodies including hot cocoa mix, chocolate sticks and baking chocolate along with measuring spoons and pie pan. After tasting it and getting familiar with the flavors I tried this recipe and nailed it(if I can say so myself) on the first try.

I wasn’t sure exactly what to call this. Technically it’s not a cake since there’s no sort of flour in it, just eggs and dairy which makes it a custard. The texture is very similar to a flourless chocolate cake recipe—super soft and melts in your mouth.

My favorite thing about their chocolate is that it’s slightly spicy. They add in anise, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange peel, anise seed, annatto, and red pepper just like chocolate was made in the 18th century, but none of the flavors are too overpowering to take away from the cocoa. If you make this recipe using standard hot cocoa mix, I would recommend adding tiny amounts of any of these spices from your cupboard to make the flavor more enticing.

Chocolate Pumpkin Baked Custard

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 40-50 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 12-16 servings):

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups half & half
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons squash or pumpkin puree*
1 package(1 1/2 cups) American Heritage Chocolate finely grated chocolate drink
Ice cream, whip cream, or chocolate sauce for serving

* I roasted and pureed half of a butternut squash. You could also use a canned pumpkin.

Method:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, beat together all of the ingredients until they’re homogenized. Don’t worry about the chocolate mix dissolving since that will happen as it bakes.
Grease a 9-inch cake or pie pan.
Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 40-50 minutes until the center has set and a cake tester comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and serve hot with whip cream, ice cream, or a chocolate fudge sauce.

Who’s bringing the ice cream?

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Maple Almond Butter Sandwich Cookies

Written on November 16, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

Sandwich Cookies are so much fun. They’re much better than any old cookie; you get two cookies plus a filling. What’s not to love?

My favorite sandwich cookies were always the ones shaped like a maple leaf with a maple crème filling. Sure, they probably were loaded with trans fat and gave people heart attacks but it was the 90s and no one knew about any of that yet. These remind me of those but very much grown up. The cinnamon and spice and salt enhance the sweetness of the maple syrup and the nuttiness of the almond butter and knock it out of the park.

If you want to skip making your own cookies, use a store-bought gingersnap cookie for the base to compliment the filling best.

Maple Almond Butter Sandwich Cookies

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 6 sandwich cookies):

12 spiced almond butter cookies
6 Tablespoons almond butter
3 1/2 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
Scant 1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Method:

Lay half of the cookies out bottom-side-up.
In a large bowl, beat together the almond butter, butter, maple syrup, cinnamon and salt until it’s smooth and homogenous.
Put about 1 1/2 Tablespoons of filling on top of each cookie.
Take another cookie and place it bottom-side-down on top of the filling.
Store at room temperature until ready to eat.

See? Much better than a cookie.

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Spiced Almond Butter Cookies

Written on November 14, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

I love almond butter. I like it even more than peanut butter most of the time. But I don’t buy it nearly as often because it’s over twice the price. That just isn’t fair, is it? These cookies were worth the splurge.

The nice thing about almond butter is that the flavor is simple and delicious. It’s easy to dress up and make fancier with extracts and spices. These taste incredibly like a gingersnap and have a very similar texture, too. It’s hard to believe the ingredients are so simple and naturally gluten-free.

If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice handy, just use about a teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 a teaspoon of nutmeg.

Spiced Almond Butter Cookies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 12-14 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 12 cookies):

1 cup almond butter
3/4 cup cane sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, mix together all of the ingredients until it forms a dough.
Line a baking tray with a non-stick surface. Make the dough into 1-inch balls and place them on the tray, flattening them with a fork in a criss-cross pattern.
Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges begin to brown.
Remove from the oven and let them cool before transferring them to a serving plate.

I promise you these taste way too good to be made with 4 ingredients.

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Vanilla Rosemary Carrots

Written on November 12, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Side Dish

A lot of my meals lately have revolved around roasted vegetables. Some of my meals have been just roasted vegetables on the days I didn’t feel like cooking anything else; that’s healthy, right?

A while ago I saw this recipe for vanilla carrots. The photos on that blog make everything look delicious. I finally got around to making them last week and they did not disappoint at all. These aren’t sweeter than regular roasted carrots, but the vanilla and rosemary add an interesting savory flavor to them.

Don’t use an oil that has a lot of flavor like coconut or peanut oil. Instead use something like vegetable oil or refined olive oil that will let the flavor of the vanilla come through.

Vanilla Rosemary Carrots

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 50-60 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 4-6 servings):

1lb carrots
3 Tablespoons oil
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon salt

Method:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Peel, trim, and wash the carrots.
In a large tray, toss the carrots together with the olive oil, vanilla extract, salt and rosemary until they’re covered.
Lay the carrots out in a single layer on a baking tray.
Roast for 50-60 minutes until the carrots are fork-tender and serve hot.

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