Paleo Caramel Sauce - GF/DF

I’m not here to debate the proper pronunciation of caramel, and instead want to share this quick and easy recipe for Paleo caramel sauce. Whether you’re looking for a healthier dip for apple slices, or something to drizzle over your favorite dairy-free ice cream or brownies, this recipe is a must-try!

Ingredients:

• 1, 15oz. can full fat coconut milk

• 2/3 cup coconut sugar

• 2/4 cup maple syrup 

• 3 tbsp. coconut oil

• 1.5 tsp. vanilla extract 

• 1/4 tsp. sea salt 

• arrowroot powder as needed (~ 1 tsp)

Directions:

1. Add coconut milk, coconut sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, and coconut oil in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil, stirring often.

2. Reduce heat and simmer for ~ 12 minutes, stirring often, until caramel sauce has thickened.

3. Add sea salt and stir.

4. Add arrowroot powder 1/4 tsp. at a time until caramel sauce has thickened a little. It will thicken more as it cools and as you refrigerate it.

5. Remove the caramel sauce from the heat and allow it to cool completely. Then store it in the fridge until ready to serve.

Paleo Pumpkin Loaf

I love fall! The crisp air, bonfires with friends, and, of course, pumpkin spice treats! While I love me some “sweata weatha” (Google that for a good laugh), I also love not having a million dishes to do after baking a fall treat. So, since I’m an #enneagram 1, I found a solution to my problem: Say hello to my blender paleo pumpkin loaf! So easy to make. So tasty. And just a few dishes to clean!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup pumpkin purée

• 3 eggs

• 2 tbsp almond milk

• 2 tbsp creamy cashew butter

• 1/3 cup maple syrup

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 2/3 cup almond flour

• 1 tbsp coconut flour

• 1 tbsp tapioca starch

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1 pinch salt

.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Put all ingredients into a standard-sized loaf pan. Seriously. Just dump it all in.

3. Using an immersion blender, slowly blend all ingredients in the pan. You might need to dirty a spoon and stir it a little to get the liquid and dry ingredients to incorporate.

4. If you don’t have an immersion blender, OR you want to make a double batch without measuring twice, you can throw everything into a blender or food processor and then transfer to the loaf pan(s). . . You’ll have more dishes to do, but it’ll accomplish the same goal.

5. Bake the loaf at 350 F for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

6. Let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

7. Using a knife or small metal spatula, loosen the loaf from the sides of the pan (and under, if your spatula can fit).

8. Place the pan upside down on the wire rack to remove the loaf.

9. Slice and serve warm, and save any leftovers in the fridge for up to a week.

GF/DF Gooey Butter Cake

If, like me, you’re from St. Louis, you KNOW what Gooey Butter Cake is! I’ve been wanting to create a gluten-free and dairy-free version of this sugary treat for awhile, so when the kids insisted on making Jesus a gooey butter cake for His birthday this Christmas, I jumped on the opportunity to create! When it comes to baking with kids, I like “semi-homemade” recipes, to limit the number of ingredients (and mess!). I opted to use a Simple Mills cake mix instead of using a variety of Paleo flours to make the base of the cake. Add in some ghee, eggs, Kite Hill dairy-free cream cheese, and almond extract, and you have yourself a Paleo gooey butter cake . . . until you add in the 4 cups of organic powdered sugar, so we will just call this GF/DF and be ok with it! Please notice that the cream cheese I have pictured is EVERYTHING cream cheese, which you will NOT want in your cake, lol. Thankfully I noticed my mistake before I added the cream cheese to the mixing bowl, and didn’t ruin the cake. Instead, I had to make my husband go out on Christmas Eve to find me some dairy-free PLAIN cream cheese. Thanks, babe.

Ingredients:

• 1 box Simple Mills vanilla cake mix

• 1/2 cup ghee

• 3 eggs, divided

• 8oz dairy-free cream cheese

• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

• 4 cups organic powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease a square cake pan.

2. Melt ghee and set aside.

3. Empty cake mix into a large bowl. Stir in melted ghee and 1 egg.

4. Press batter into prepared baking dish.

5. In a large mixing bowl, mix dairy-free cream cheese, almond extract, powdered sugar, and the remaining 2 eggs.

6. Using a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer, beat the mixture on medium-high for 3 minutes.

7. Spread cream cheese mixture on top of the cake mixture.

8. Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes.

9. Allow the cake to cool, and dust with more powdered sugar, if desired.