Sugar-Free Chocolate Banana Muffins!

    Here we go…yet another banana muffin recipe!  I know, I know, there is more to baking than just banana muffins. But they're a classic! So before I retired the banana muffin trend, I wanted to bake a recipe that even my momma would eat.  Not because the other banana muffin recipes were unpalatable but because she’s one of those fun no-sugar people!  (I mean no sugar.  Ever.)  So I'm sharing this recipe for all of you who are seeking a DELICIOUS, chocolaty, sugar-free treat.  I hope you enjoy!

You'll need...

1 1/2 cups flour

¼ cup cacao powder

¼ cup cacao nibs

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3 large bananas, very ripe

1  cup xylitol

1 eggs

1/3 cup melted coconut oil

 ------

½ cup Lily’s stevia chocolate chips

Makes 12 Muffins 

       Preheat oven to 350°F.  Prepare a muffin tin by greasing each cup (or you can use cupcake liners).

       In a small mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cacao powder, cacao nibs, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside until needed.

     Peel and mash the bananas.  Keep mashing them until they are mushy and no longer solid.  In a medium mixing bowl, combine mashed bananas, xylitol, egg, and coconut oil.  Mix thoroughly.

     Stir dry ingredients into the creamed mixture.  Fold Lily’s Chocolate Chips into batter, then spoon the batter into the muffin tins until they are about ¾ full.  

       Place in the oven to bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  *Tip, if your oven tends to bake food unevenly, put a cookie sheet under the muffin tins to help distribute the heat and keep the bottoms from getting too brown.

       Once the muffins have finished baking, take them out of the oven and let them cool in the tins for about three minutes before transferring the muffins to a cooling rack. Allow them to finish cooling then enjoy! 

Chocolate Brownie Cookies

I don’t know about you but sometimes I just want a cookie!  I'm not talking about your basic chocolate chip (although I will never turn down one of those either!) but I mean a fudgy, over-the-top, chocolate indulgence.  Wait, does this make me high-maintenance?  Who cares if chocolate is involved?!  So today I am going to be sharing with you one of my top cookie picks! 

Here’s what you’ll need… 

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp salt

 

2 tsp instant espresso powder

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup coconut oil

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar 

 

       In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, espresso powder, and baking powder.

       In a separate large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the coconut oil and granulated sugar together until fluffy, about two minutes.  

       Add in the eggs and vanilla extract, mix well.  Next, add the dry ingredients then continue mixing until fully combined.

    Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least three hours.

       Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  

       Place the powdered sugar into a small bowl.  Roll the dough into little balls that are about one inch around, then roll the cookie dough balls in the powdered sugar to fully coat them.

       Place on the prepared cookie sheet, spacing the cookies about two inches apart.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.

        When they are done baking, you should have a cookie that is crispy on the outside but oohhh so soft and gooey on the inside! 

 

Enjoy the chocolatey goodness!

Dairy-Free Sugar-Free Blackberry Coffee Cake

        What do I love most about this recipe?  Is it the fact that it's dairy-free or that it uses no traditional cane sugar?  Hmm...actually I think it's because it can be enjoyed as either a morning breakfast treat or an after-dinner dessert! No matter when you choose to eat it, I hope you enjoy!

(Oh! the drama of blogging…Somehow my computer decided to delete the pictures of this delicious recipe!  But instead of withholding this yumminess from you I've decided to go ahead and post this recipe, then I'll update it with pictures the next time I make it.)

Here’s what you’ll need…

½ Cup Coconut Oil

1 Cup Xylitol

2 Eggs

2 Cups Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

½ tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

1/3  Cup Coconut Milk

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Cup Coconut Cream

1 ½  Cups Blackberries (or berries of your choice) 

       Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease a 13x9 pan and set aside.

       In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together coconut oil and xylitol.  Add in the eggs then mix well. 

       In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture.  Next, add in the coconut milk, vanilla extract, and coconut cream.

Gently fold in berries then pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Spiced Sugar Crumble:

½ Cup Coconut Sugar

½ Cup Flour

1 tsp Cinnamon

1tsp Nutmeg

3 tbsp Coconut oil 

       In a small bowl combine the coconut sugar, flour, spices, and coconut oil.  Using a fork, cut the ingredients together until slightly crumbly and the mixture has formed into pea-sized clumps.

       Pour across the top of the batter then bake for 40-45 minutes or until the top is a nice golden brown.  After you pull the cake out of the oven, allow it  to cool before serving.  This would be phenomenal if served still slightly warm with a scoop of vanilla coconut ice cream! 

Islander Muffins

       Still craving some summer flavors?  Summer may be almost over but fear not.  I am still in vacation mode so I have the perfect recipe to help us enjoy those warm, bright flavors for a little while longer!  These muffins feature the delicious combo of mango and coconut  and then are topped with a (wait for it...) salted rum butter cream.  Need I say more?

You'll need...

1 ½  cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½  tsp salt

1 cup Mango Cream

¼ cup + 2tbsp milk

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup butter, melted 

Makes 12 muffins.

       Preheat oven to 350°F.  Prepare two muffin tins by greasing each cup (or you can use cupcake liners, if you prefer).

 In a small mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside until needed.

      In a medium mixing bowl, combine Mango Cream, sugar, egg, milk, and butter.  Mix thoroughly.

       Stir dry ingredients into the creamed mixture.  *Important tip: don’t over stir!  For best results, be sure to mix the flour into the creamed mixture until just combined and the flour is no longer visible.  Over-mixing can cause the muffins to be less moist.

        Spoon the batter into the muffin tins until they are about ¾ full.  Place in the oven to bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  If your oven tends to bake food unevenly, put a cookie sheet under the muffin tins to help distribute the heat and keep the bottoms from getting too brown.

       Once the muffins have finished baking, take them out of the oven and let them cool in the tins for about three minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

       Once your muffins have fully cooled, it's time to break out the coring tool. I know, I know...yet another cream-stuffed recipe using the corer.  But I promise I wouldn’t be repeating this if it wasn’t such a hit!  (And do I need to say again how much fun it is?)  

       Cut a hole the size of a quarter in the center of the muffins, only going down about 1/4 of an inch deep.  Then using a knife, press the muffin center to the sides so you have an empty cone shape in the middle to put the filling in.  Once you have cored out all the muffins, you can start on the cream. 

 Island Coconut Cream

8oz cream cheese

1/2 cup + 2tbsp powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp coconut flavor

½ tsp rum flavor

1/2 tsp salt

       In a medium mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Then whip in powdered sugar followed by extracts and salt.  Continue whipping until fully combined.      

       Put the butter cream into an icing bag fitted with a tip or a gallon Ziploc bag with one corner cut out.  Then stick the tip into the center of the muffin and fill the hollow.  Continue squeezing and move the tip up until you fill the center all the way to the top.  Repeat this process until all of the muffins are filled. 

       Serve and enjoy!

Facebook Giveaway!

 

I am hosting a giveaway for a FREE bag of Xyla brand Xylitol (which as you know by now is my go-to brand for a sugar alternative) and an exclusive recipe to one lucky Facebook follower.  Here’s how you can enter to win…

1. Like me on Facebook @Delectably Different Kitchen (if you haven’t already)

2.  Invite five friends to join in and like this page

3. Leave a comment once you have completed 1 and 2.

It’s that easy!  Once we reach 70 likes, I will select a random winner for this cool prize!  I'll be back soon and posting even more delectable and delicious recipes

Salted Caramel Avocado Brownies!

 

       A little while ago, I posted a recipe for Fudgy Coconut Almond Avocado Brownies.  What a HIT they turned out to be!!!  Because really, who doesn't like avocados and chocolate?  So I decided to revamp the recipe a bit to satisfy a craving for one of my favorite flavor profiles: Salted Caramel.

Let me know how they turn out for you! 

 I give you fair warning, you will definitely need to keep a napkin nearby to help you control all of the gooey deliciousness...

 You’ll need:

Salted Caramel

¼ Cup Butter, softened

1/8 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream

½ Cup Brown Sugar

1 tsp Butter Flavor

1tsp Himalayan Salt

Brownie

2 Cups Mashed Avocado

4 Eggs

3 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 tsp Butter Flavor

2 tbsp Water

1 Cup dark chocolate chips

2 ¼ Cups Cacao Powder

1 Cup Brown sugar

¼ Cup Sugar

1 tsp Baking Soda

½ tsp Salt

½ Cup Cacao Nibs  

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease an 8x11 pan and set aside.

 In a medium saucepan, melt all of the ingredients for the salted caramel over medium heat and then bring to a boil.  Allow to boil for about three minutes before removing from heat.  Set aside until needed.

Peel and mash avocados until they measure two cups.  For me, this took four small Haas avocados.  In a medium bowl, whip the avocado, eggs, extracts, and water with an electric mixer until smooth.

       Melt down the chocolate chips in a double boiler until smooth then whip it in to the avocado mixture. Next, add in the cacao, mixing well between each cup.  Then stir in the sugar, baking soda and salt.  Gently fold in cacao nibs.

       Pour batter into prepared pan.  Scoop the salted caramel onto the brownie mixture and then swirl the batter with a butter knife to combine. 

 Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

       Once your brownies have finished baking, move them into the fridge so they can completely cool before being topped with the cream.

Salted Butter Cream

1 cup Heavy Whipping cream

3 tbsp Powdered Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 tsp Butter Flavor

½ tsp Himalayan Salt 

       In a chilled bowl, whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form.  Add in the powdered sugar and whip until well combined.  Then beat in vanilla extract, butter flavor, and salt.

       Top the cooled brownies with the buttercream, then serve and enjoy!

 

Vacation Time!

    Hey everyone!  First I want to thank all of you who have been along for the ride since I first started this blog.  Your support and feedback has been so encouraging to me!  Needless to say, it has been a very busy year so now I am going on a much-needed vacation.  ;)   I will be away all of next week so I won't be having my regular recipe posts but I will do my best to post a few pics while I’m gone.   During this trip I know I'll be inspired by all of the exciting tropical flavors and I plan on bringing home some delicious new recipes from afar!

  

      While I’m away I have a fun task and challenge for you.  I will be hosting a giveaway for a bag of Xyla brand Xylitol (which as you know by now is my go-to brand for a sugar alternative) and an exclusive recipe to one lucky Facebook follower.  Here’s how you can enter to win…

1. Like me on Facebook @Delectably Different Kitchen (if you haven’t already)

2.  Invite five friends to join in and like this page

3. Leave a comment once you have completed 1 and 2.

It’s that easy!  Once we reach 70 likes, I will select a random winner for this cool prize!  I'll be back soon and posting even more delectable and delicious recipes!