refined sugar free

Apple Cider Donuts (grain-dairy-refined sugar-free) / November 9, 2017 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

fall in LA is almost unrecognizable. if it weren't for grocery stores carrying more pumpkins and winter squash than tomatoes, you would never know that it was autumn, and that thanksgiving is right around the corner. while i'm certainly not complaining about 75 degree weather, and plentiful sunshine, it is a bit disorienting. i've been trying to get into the groove of the holiday season sans chilly temps, and leaves changing color, and these donuts were just the thing to get it all going ;)

where i grew up in the hudson valley, new york, little family-run farms could be found in just a short drive. my family would drive to to schultz's farm in the next town over. there, they sold farm-grown apples, pumpkins, fruit, and vegetables. as soon as fall hit they also opened up their small kitchen where they would make fresh, hot apple cider donuts right in front of you, to-order. i remember munching on them piping hot, with a cup of warm apple cider in hand.

so when i came across melissa's baked apple cider donuts on her instagram feed, i was overcome with nostalgia and longing for a seasonal donut. i adapted her recipe to be gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free (they also happen to grain-free as well - sorry that's a lot of free's), while also maintaining the integrity of a baked donut. and that they sooo do, guys! they're the perfect amount of light cake-y-ness, with a good balance of spice and sweetness. but the best part (if you don't eat refined sugar - or even if you do because i think you would be surprised) is the sugar coating. i used monk fruit sweetener (this one), 1:1 for sugar giving it that vital sweet crunch when you bite your way through an apple cider donut. definitely nudging you guys to make these 😉

hope you're staying cozy out there, xo!

baked apple cider donuts | gf & df

i'm going to anticipate any questions about substitutions, and just tell you not to. i know it's a lot if you don't have coconut flour in your pantry to go buy a package of it for 1 tablespoon, but it does make a difference in the way these donuts turn out. while i urge you to try monk fruit sweetener, you can certainly use granulated sugar as well.

adapted from the fauxmartha

| makes 6 donuts |

3/4 cup blanched almond flour
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
1 tablespoon coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (or ground nutmeg)
1/3 cup apple cider, at room temperature
1/4 cup coconut sugar
3 tablespoons liquid coconut oil
2 large pasture-raised eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

topping:

1/3 cup monk fruit sweetner
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

(3.4.18) **a note on how to make these into chocolate donuts:

3/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cacao powder
1 tablespoon coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk, at room temp
1/3 cup coconut sugar
3 tablespoons liquid coconut oil
2 large pasture-raised eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

method

preheat oven to 350°F and grease your donut pan.
in a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, arrowroot powder, coconut flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. in a separate bowl, whisk together the apple cider, sugar, coconut oil, eggs, and vanilla. add the dry ingredients into the wet a little at a time until everything is combined.
add the batter to a piping bag (or a large ziploc with a bottom corner snipped) and fill the donut cavities 3/4 full.
bake for 12-15 minutes, checking at 12 minutes for doneness, until a cake tester or toothpick come out clean and donuts are golden.
in a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together the monk fruit sweetener and cinnamon.
once the donuts are completely cool, dunk them in the topping, gently turning them to cover sides, and tops.
donuts are best when eaten the day of, but can be stored at room temperature under a piece of parchment paper for up to 2 days.

similar recipes:

olive oil & dark chocolate chunk loaf w/ pears

hemp-buckwheat blender waffles w/ spiced apples

A Dinosaur Cake For Amesy's 1st Birthday! / October 5, 2017 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

baby-friendly dinosaur "smash" cake | dolly and oatmeal

we celebrated amesy's 1st with confetti balloons, a little taco and guac spread, our dear family, a couple of birthday portraits, and some dinosaur cake! i had planned his birthday a bit more elaborately in my head months back. but it turns out all he needed was some balloons, tickles and love from his fam, and some smash-friendly cake. i know i mentioned that i was going to try and make his cake in the shape of an actual dinosaur. clearly that didn't happen. because as it turns out, i'm not a magician, nor am i that talented in the cake decorating/intricate icing department. i'm reaaaaally good at complicating situations so i took a step back from the endless cake scenarios playing out in my mind and thought about ames, and what he might like. he's a pretty easy going babe, so a simple, easy-peasy mini cake, some cookie "dirt", and a plastic dinosaur on top was going to be perfect for him. i'm not sure whether he enjoyed the happy birthday song, the smashing part, or the actual eating of the cake more, but he definitely had fun at his little party :)

at one point when frank and i were setting up amesy's party, i was kind of struck with this profound parent-y feeling. i've been at parties, helped set them up, thrown shindigs for friends, etc. but it was different and so, so special making a little party for him that it kind of surprised me a bit by how much it struck me. i didn't think being a mom would change in any way. and to a certain degree i'm exactly who i was, but being a mama to ames is the very best feeling i've ever felt and could ever feel. it's similar to how i would feel every christmas morning when i was a kid, i'm just so excited to spend the day with him and see how he takes in his young world.

anywho, let's talk cake. this baby cake is grain free and a made with almond and cassava flour. it's sweetened with banana puree, some coconut sugar (which is completely refined sugar free), and a few drops of stevia. the frosting/whip is just straight up coconut fat from a can of refrigerated coconut milk with a few drops of stevia (not that i think he would have noticed if it weren't sweetened). i chose the ingredients carefully here because i wanted it to be cakey and enjoyable as a sweet treat for ames, but i also didn't want his blood sugar sky-rocketing out of control. and judging by amesy's reaction, i think i found a really great balance of both with this cake. yay! and it's even good for adults too! my dad and brother ate their fair share ;)

peace & love. xo!

baby-friendly dinosaur "smash" cake | gf/df/grain free/refined sugar free

i know cassava flour is hard to come by in some areas, and quite expensive. while i haven't tried it, arrowroot powder would probably make a great substitute.

| makes one 3-tiered, 3-inch layer cake |

1 1/4 cups almond flour
1/2 cup cassava flour
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/3 cup cacao powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup banana puree (roughly 2 bananas)
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, room temp
1/2 cup liquid coconut oil
2 pasture raised eggs, room temp
4-6 drops liquid stevia
1 cup ground chocolate cookies (i like these or a homemade version), for "dirt"
dinosaur figurines

frosting

1 can full-fat coconut milk, refrigerated for at least 24 hours
4 drops liquid stevia

adult-friendly chocolate dinosaur cake

this recipe, substituting the olive oil for coconut oil

frosting

1 cup non-hydrogenated palm shortening
1 cup powdered coconut sugar (i followed ashlae's recipe here, and used 1 cup coconut sugar, and 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder)
1/4 cup cacao powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk

method

preheat oven to 350°F, and grease and line the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan with at least 2-inch sides.
in a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, cassava flour, coconut sugar, cacao, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
in another large bowl, whisk together the banana puree, milk, oil, eggs, and stevia.
mix the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until combined. pour the batter into the cake pan tilting it to get the batter evenly dispersed. bake in the center of your oven for 30-35 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick come out clean.
place the cake on a rack to cool. once the cake is completely cool invert it onto a piece of cling wrap. refrigerate the cake for at least 5 hours, or overnight.
use a 3-inch round biscuit cutter to cut three layers out of the cake. (there will be quite a bit of cake remnants. i used small cookie cutters to make bite-size cakes for amesy's cousin and other guests.)
make the coconut whip. turn the coconut milk can upside down and open it from the bottom. pour out the coconut water (you can reserve it for smoothies, etc.) and scoop the coconut fat from the can into a bowl. using an electric mixer on medium speed, mix the whip until it's fluffy. add the stevia and mix again. cover with cling wrap and refrigerate until you're ready to use it.
use an offset spatula to frost the top of one cake layer, add the other top and add the same amount of coconut whip, add the last layer and frost the top and sides with a thin layer of whip. refrigerate for roughly 30 minutes, and then frost with another layer (a second layer isn't totally essential, but because the cake is chocolate, the coconut whip will turn slightly brown with one layer if it's sitting long enough.) add cookie crumbs to the bottom of the cake and little on top. plop a dinosaur on top, and let the smashing begin.
large chocolate dinosaur cake
follow the method here, but instead of using a bundt pan, grease and line two. 6-inch round cake pans, and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
bake the layers until the a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean, about 35-38 minutes. let the layers cool completely. wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 5 hours or overnight.
make the frosting. add the shortening to a large bowl. sift in the powdered coconut sugar and cacao; add the vanilla and milk. mix together using an electric mixer on medium low until the frosting is fluffy and creamy.
frost the top of one layer, then place the other layer on top. frost the tops and sides with a thin layer to coat it. refrigerate for 30 minutes, then frost the top and sides again in a final, thicker layer. add the cookie crumbs to the bottom of the cake, and make little mounds on top of the cake. decorate with dinosaurs, and slice and serve the cake.

similar recipes:

chocolate layer cake w/ macadamia mousse & coconut whip

Chocolate Freeze 'N' Slice Cookies & Coconut Caramel Sundaes / July 27, 2017 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

Coconut Caramel Sundaes | dolly and oatmeal

today's a big day in my little family's world. frank and i are celebrating 4 years married. amesy is 10 months old today. and it's been 3 months since we moved to LA! maybe the universe is trying to tell us that 27 is our number, or maybe it's just one big coincidence that the biggest (and best parts) of our life just happened to come on a day with a 2 in front of a 7.

either way, i'm meditating on a swell of emotions today (and everyday for that matter), and i'm not really sure how to make sense of these feelings except for the fact that it's overwhelming in every sense of word. so instead of talking about said festivities we're just going to celebrate them with these sundaes :)

last summer when i was super pregnant with ames, i made this freezer cookie dough for after he was born when i wanted a quick, pull-it-out-of-the-freezer cookie, but didn't have time to pull together a batter, and clean up a mess. they were so easy and good that i kept making different iterations of them: chocolate chip, chocolate-chocolate chip, almond chocolate chip, etc., etc. but just before we loved to LA i bought a bag of cassava flour. and it had been sitting in my pantry until the other week. i've been limiting the amount of grains i eat for a while now (less about a diet and more about stabilizing my blood sugar), so i decided to try out the cassava flour in my freezer cookies. and after a few test batches, they were gold ;)

i'm not really one for over-the-top sweets, but this cosmic occasion called for something special. plus, frank looooves ice cream and cookies together, so i thought i would throw in some caramel sauce while i was at it. i've been using coconut nectar for a while now as my sweetener of choice. it has a low glycemic index (great for peeps who have trouble balancing their blood sugar), and contains a bunch of amino acids, minerals, and vitamins. but it's not a super sweet sweetener, if that makes sense. it's a bit tangy on its own, so i was curious how it would taste in a caramel situation. it turns out, that it works perfectly! it's a beautiful caramel flavor without the sugar crash that comes with the refined sugar versions (or if you're like me, and super sensitive, the crash that comes with maple syrup and/or honey). i hope you give these recipes a go, even if you only make one ;)

sweet summer hugs! xoxo

chocolate freeze 'n' slice cookies & coconut caramel sundaes

caramel sauce

| makes roughly 1 1/2 cups |

1 13.5ounce can unsweetened coconut milk (preferably non-BPA)
1/2 cup coconut nectar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

chocolate hazelnut cookies

| makes roughly 26 cookies |

1 cup raw hazelnuts
1/2 cup raw cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
1/2 cup cassava flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup liquid coconut oil
2 large eggs (preferably pasture raised)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate
1 pint vegan vanilla ice cream of choice
cacao nibs, for topping (optional)

method

make the caramel. in a small saucepan, whisk together the coconut milk and coconut nectar. bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. once the mixture comes to a boil, turn down the heat and bring it all to a simmer. continue whisking every few minutes, until the mixture has thickened a bit, and has reduced to about half; about 30 minutes. remove the caramel from the stove and whisk in the vanilla and salt. pour the caramel sauce into a lidded jar and let it come to room temperature. then refrigerate until ready to use, or up to 2 weeks.
make the cookies. place the hazelnuts in a blender and pulse them into a "meal" and dump into a large mixing bowl. to the hazelnut meal, whisk in the cacao powder, cassava flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until completely combined.
in another large bowl, whisk together the sugar and coconut oil until combined. then add the eggs, and vanilla and whisk until combined. add the flour mix to the wet mix and stir with a rubber spatula until combined. then fold in the chocolate chunks.
cover the bowl with cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. prepare a large piece of parchment paper, and place it on your counter. transfer the cookie dough onto the parchment and shape it into a long log, roughly 12-14 inches long, and 2 1/2 inches thick. wrap and gently form it into an even shape, then wrap it tightly with cling wrap. freeze the cookie dough for at least 4 hours, or up to 1 month.
let the cookie dough sit for about 30 minutes before you slice. while you wait, preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. slice off as many cookies as you would like, and lay them on the cookie sheet. bake for 10 minutes, until slightly puffy.
let the cookies cool a bit. scoop a serving of ice cream into a cup or dish, crumble the cookies over top, and drizzle with a good bit of caramel sauce. sprinkle with cacao nibs, and serve