Sweet and Healthy Cream Cheese Pancakes and Dark Chocolate Trail Mix Balls

Here are two more recipes that I added to my Pinterest boards. (If you're on Pinterest, you can find me at Kathleen Read Richardson.) Both of these offerings are sweet, but not too sweet, and both are guaranteed healthy.


CREAM CHEESE PANCAKES
You’ll find the complete recipe at the I BREATH... I’M HUNGRY... blog.

Cream Cheese Pancakes are low carb, gluten-free and require only four ingredients: eggs, cream cheese, stevia and cinnamon. Instead of buying stevia, I used 1 teaspoon Organic Blue Agave Maple Flavored Syrup which I had on hand after using some of it in Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers. I also topped my Cream Cheese Pancakes with the syrup.

My picture is terrible, but don’t judge the taste by my ability to flip these thin, delicate pancakes. I have yet to master the skill of gingerly sliding the spatula under them preparatory to turning them over. May be that I’m making them too big, or my “batter” is TOO thin. Anyways, the original blog has an absolutely gorgeous photo of them plated and ready to serve. I did like this AM dish, just a matter of remembering to allow time for the bubbles to die down after blending the batter and to soften some cream cheese.

As my blogging friend BAM would say, this recipe will feed two adults, or one hungry teenage boy.


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DARK CHOCOLATE TRAIL MIX BALLS


This one’s for you, CCU (Chocolate Chip Uru at GO BAKE YOURSELF) -- 16-year old queen of chocolate creations -- and was concocted by another of my favorite bloggers, Cory at THE ZESTY COOK

I spotted it and thought to myself that these might be a solution for my daughter, who has a 5-year old and a 9-year old playing ball up to three nights a week. They either have to eat a very early or a very late supper on practice and game nights. Dark Chocolate Trail Mix Balls might be the easy-to-prep, eat-anywhere, highly nutritious food that would get them through Little League season, or any other life-consuming sports season.

One of the ingredients called for is protein powder. My son, my daughter and my SIL are all familiar with protein powder and anyone of them may have it on hand right now. I, however, do not, so off to Wegmans I went, to check out the protein powders in Nature’s Marketplace.

So many choices! Most in huge canisters, with prices ranging from $11.99 to $29.99. With assistance from a Wegmans employee, I chose a 1.1 oz. package of Organic Hemp Protein Superfood Protein Powder at $.99. From Nutiva. I’m not promoting it; just giving you information.

Two scoops of protein powder, according to a search on the Internet, is equivalent to two tablespoons.

Quinoa... This recipe also includes quinoa. I have the hardest time remembering how to pronounce that word. It’s “keen-oh-ah”, or if you say it fast, it comes out “keen-wah”, or so I’ve been told.

Love it, love it, love it! They taste so good!

My substitutions -
Agave Maple Syrup for Honey
Raisins for Cherries (Next time I HAVE to try it with cherries!)

Remember, you’ll find the recipe for Dark Chocolate Trail Mix Balls at The Zesty Cook.


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HERBS FOR MY GARDEN

I bought the parsley and the thyme for my Chicken Kiev and who doesn’t need basil in their garden! While I may not use much of the sage in my kitchen, my grandsons and I love to pick leaves to rub between our fingers and breathe in the rich aroma. I also have a huge chive plant and a brand new cluster of lemon balm.

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GLUTEN-FREE, DAIRY-FREE BROWNIES

Believe it or not, these are the most delicious brownies I’ve ever had in my life, and I’ve eaten a lot of brownies in my sixty-six years!

The original recipe comes from Karina Allrich, the Gluten Free Goddess. I can’t recommend her too much -- she is that good. I’ve made minor adjustments to the recipe, but if you want to follow Karina’s exactly, check out her blog. Definitely sign up to receive updates (new recipes!) if you are on a gluten-free diet.

I’m not on a gluten-free or dairy-free diet, but I do like to try out foods I’ve never had before, so I’m exploring gluten-free these days. Because I wanted to stay with a dairy-free theme, I did a lot of label reading and it took a while to find just the right chocolate. Some chocolates include milk; some don’t.

I found all the ingredients at Wegmans supermarket.

I'm sure most of you know that if you click on a photo, you'll see an enlarged version. I can even click on the enlarged picture and get an even larger one. You just might not be able to resist buying these pricey (worth every penny) ingredients to make your own Gluten-free, Dairy-free Brownies once you've seen them close up.



GLUTEN-FREE, DAIRY-FREE BROWNIES

Ingredients...
5 ounces high quality dark chocolate (I used bittersweet)
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar (Karina recommends organic)
1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt (I use coarse Kosher salt in my cooking, so I used mortar and pestle to crush it fine)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs, beaten (Karina uses organic, free-range)
1 tablespoon bourbon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (Optional)
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (Optional - again, I used bittersweet)

Directions...
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Line 8x8-inch square baking pan with foil and lightly oil the bottom. (I lined my pan with a parchment paper and greased it.)


2. Melt the dark chocolate and coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat, gently stirring. (Or melt in a microwave safe measuring cup and stir together to combine.)


3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, almond meal, brown rice flour, fine sea salt and baking soda. If the brown sugar tends to lump together, don’t be afraid to reach in with bare (clean) hands to rub away the lumps.


4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add beaten eggs, vanilla and melted chocolate/oil mixture. Beat on low for approximately two minutes, until the batter begins to come together. At first it may seem thin, like cake batter, but keep beating until it becomes smooth and glossy. (Mine was never thin and I felt like I was making fudge... yum!)


5. If you are adding nuts, stir them in by hand and spread the batter into the prepare pan.


6. Shake the pan a little bit to even out the batter. Layer the dark chocolate chips all over the top and press in slightly.
7. Bake 32 - 35 minutes or until the brownies are set and the top cracks like a flourless chocolate cake.


8. Cool on a wire rack and lift the cooled brownies from the pan by using the foil.
9. Chill for an hour before cutting.

The first time I made these Gluten-free, dairy-free brownies, I couldn’t wait for them to cool. They were delicious warm. They are delicious after cooling and hold together better this way. When I took them from the refrigerator and touched them with my finger, they seemed quite hard, but they cut easily.

Brownie instructions always say to grease/oil only the bottom of the pan. I wonder why.

If the only way you’ve incorporated coconut into recipes is through shredded coconut, you’re in for a treat. Coconut oil has the most heavenly aroma. Don’t be fooled by the word “oil” because this oil is not liquid; at least not the brand I bought.

Both the nuts and the dark chocolate chips are optional. Having made the brownies without them the first time and with them the second time, I highly recommend their addition.



Thanks again to Karina Allrich, Gluten Free Goddess, for this scrumptious treat!

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