Pinterest: Tasty (Gluten-Free!) Dessert Recipes

With holiday baking soon-to-be-underway and Christmas just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to share some almost healthy and, well, not-so-healthy (okay, incredibly decadent!) dessert recipes that I’ve found recently on Pinterest.

As we don’t eat gluten in our house either, these are all gluten-free to boot.

Bon Appétit!

Almost Healthful Desserts:

1. Raw Cashew Dreamcake with Raspberry Topping (pin)
2. Black Bean Chocolate Chili Cherry Cookies (pin)
3. Frozen Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bites (pin)
4. Hot Fudge Brownie Larabars (pin)
5. Healthy Peanut Butter Freezer Cookies (pin)
6. Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries (pin)

Incredibly Decadent Gluten-Free Treats:

1. Almond Macaroon Torte with Chocolate Frosting (pin)
2. Hot Chocolate Spoons (pin)
3. Easy Chocolate Truffles (pin)
4. Cinnamon Sugar Cake Doughnuts (pin)
5. White Chocolate, Cranberry and Strawberry Rocky Road (pin)

View these and many more delicious recipes on my Sweet Treats Recipes and Almost Healthy Sweets Pinterest boards.
(images obtained via Pinterest)

Enough distractions! I have a dollhouse to finish painting and gifts to wrap…

Pinned: Chocolate Bark Recipes

One of my favorite holiday treats to bake is chocolate bark. It’s a tasty treat that’s easy to make and a great gift to share with others.

Here are some variations on chocolate bark that look particularly delicious:

Featured above:
1. Dark Chocolate Bark with Ginger, Pumpkin Seeds and Apricots
toasted pumpkin seeds, dried apricots, crystallized or candied ginger, bittersweet chocolate, fleur de sel
2. White chocolate bark
walnuts, dried cherries or cranberries, and white chocolate
3. Easy Fruit & Nut Bark
chocolate chips, mixed salted nuts, dried cranberries, and candied ginger
4. Festive Chocolate Bark
pistachio nuts, semisweet chocolate, white chocolate, and dried cranberries
5. Christmas bark
semi-sweet, bittersweet and white chocolate, dried cranberries, pistachios, and dried apricots
6. Chocolate Marshmallow Bark
bittersweet chocolate, butter, and mini marshmallows
7. Three-Layer Peppermint Bark
white chocolate, red-and-white-striped hard peppermint candies, bittersweet chocolate, heavy cream, peppermint extract
8. Almond Roca
butter, sugar, almonds, and chocolate chips

Last year we couldn’t find peppermint extract in our small town grocery store to make the Bon Appétit version that Amanda Soule loves, so we used a more simplistic recipe instead and we were pleased with the results (shown above).

Super easy, with just three ingredients, this simple peppermint bark recipe makes for a kid-friendly baking experience that’s fun (hammers are involved!) and each step along the way tastes delicious. (Not that we were sampling. Ahem.)

View these and many more delicious recipes on my Tasty Treats Pinterest board.

(images obtained via Pinterest)

Kale Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing Redux

I’ve written before about our favorite Kale Salad recipe.

Making Kale Salad

Each Sunday we mix up a giant batch to enjoy through the week.

Making Kale Salad

In a previous post, I linked to the original recipe source, but since so many friends have asked me to specifically publish our take on the recipe, I thought I’d share our adaptation of Kale Salad with you.

What I love most about this particular recipe is that I feel so good after eating it! I don’t know if it’s the extra B vitamins (from the nutritional yeast) or the raw veggies, but it agrees so well with me.

As a busy person, I also appreciate the flexibility of this recipe. You really can add whatever veggies and nuts you have in your garden, fridge or cupboard. You can’t go wrong. It’s incredibly tasty and easy (although a bit time consuming) to make. Trust me, you’ll make this salad again and again.

Lemon-Tahini Dressing

We use this dressing on everything: macro bowl of veggies and brown rice, salads, tofu, steamed veggies. It’s versatile and delicious! We usually double (or triple!) the recipe below and make a big batch of dressing for the week.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Tahini
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsp water

Mix all ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth.

Kale Salad

In addition to the vegetables listed below, you could add any others you find in your garden or fridge: sugar snap peas, tomatoes, bell pepper, squash or zucchini.

Ingredients:

1 large head of kale
1 cup red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup carrot, diced
1 cucumber, sliced
1 avocado, diced
1/2 cup raisins, dried cranberries or dried cherries
1/4 cup hemp seed, optional
2/3 cup walnuts, roasted and chopped
14 oz chickpeas, salted
1 cup cooked brown rice, optional

First, remove the stems/veins from the kale (the bitter part!) and break each leaf into several small pieces. Wash and dry kale.

Kale salad recipe

Add dressing to the kale and massage with your bare hands for 5-10 minutes (this is important to break down the kale and make it a bit more digestible!). The kale will reduce from a giant bowl to a much smaller amount:

Kale salad recipe

Add remaining ingredients to the salad.

Either eat immediately, or cover, refrigerate and use within three days.

Kale salad recipe

Savor and enjoy!

Company Cheesecake Recipe

I love making this simple, quick cheesecake for special occasions. We served it at our wedding, make it each year for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and mix it up for special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries. My mother-in-law taught this one to me; straight out of her long-faded Betty Crocker cookbook (it’s such an old recipe that it’s not even available on the Betty Crocker website).

Making Company Cheesecake

What I love about this particular cheesecake is that it’s easy to make and completely non-fussy. It doesn’t matter if you have bubbles or cracks in the top because you’ll be completely covering the top with cherry, strawberry, or mandarin orange glaze. With a fruit glaze on top, you can’t go wrong.

We’ve made various adjustments to the recipe over the years, so I’ve included our new (and gluten-free) recipe, in addition to the original Betty Crocker recipe as taught to me by my mother-in-law (thank you, Diana!).

Making Company Cheesecake

Company Cheesecake with a Gingersnap Crust
My take on the Betty Crocker classic.

1 1/4 cups of Mi-del Gluten-Free Ginger Snaps (or any other ginger snap cookies) crumbs
3 tablespoons melted butter

1 package (8 ounces) of full-fat cream cheese, softened
1 package (8 ounces) plus 1 package (3 ounces) of low-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel), softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs

1 cup dairy sour cream or fruit glaze

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir together cracker crumbs and the melted butter. Press mixture evenly in bottom of 9″ springform pan. Bake 8-10 minutes; cool.

2. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Beat cream cheese in large mixer bowl or food processor. Gradually add 1 cup sugar, beating until fluffy. Add vanilla. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Pour over crumb mixture.

3. Bake one hour or until center is firm. Cool to room temperature. Spread with sour cream or glaze. Chill at least 3 hours. Loosen edge of cheesecake with knife before removing side of pan.

Making Company Cheesecake

Classic Company Cheesecake

1 1/4 cups of graham cracker crumbs (about 15 crackers)
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

2 packages (8 ounces each) plus 1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs

1 cup dairy sour cream or fruit glaze

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir together graham cracker crumbs and 2 tablespoons sugar. Mix in butter thoroughly. Press mixture evenly in bottom of 9″ springform pan. Bake 10 minutes. (Optional: pour bag of chocolate chips into the pan, put back in the oven to melt.) Cool.

2. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Beat cream cheese in large mixer bowl. Gradually add 1 cup sugar, beating until fluffy. Add lemon peel and vanilla. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Pour over crumb mixture.

3. Bake one hour or until center is firm. Cool to room temperature. Spread with sour cream or glaze. Chill at least 3 hours. Loosen edge of cheesecake with knife before removing side of pan.

Strawberry Glaze (the only one of the three glazes that I’ve tried)

Mash enough fresh strawberries to measure 1 cup. Blend 3/4 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons cornstarch in a small saucepan on the stove. Stir in 1/3 cup water and the strawberries. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir one minute. Cool thoroughly.

Cherry Glaze

Drain 1 can (1 pound) of pitted red tart cherries, reserving liquid. Add enough water to cherry liquid to measure 1 cup. Mix 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons cornstarch in a small saucepan. Stir in the 1 cup liquid. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in cherries and 4 drops of red food color (optional!). Cool thoroughly.

Mandarin Orange Glaze

Follow the above glaze recipe, substituting the juice from the oranges (which are in a light syrup) instead of water, plus a dash of rum. Add the oranges at the end.

Easy Kale Chips Recipe

I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve been buying those tiny yet expensive ($7!) bags of raw kale chips at Whole Foods. I know they’re ridiculously over priced for such a little bag of kale goodness, but they’re just so tasty and tempting. Especially when I need to bring a quick snack on an outing with friends. We all love them so.

Making kale chips together from scratch

Well, a friend encouraged me to make them from scratch at home and now that I’ve discovered just how easy (and CHEAP!) making kale chips can be, I doubt I’ll ever buy a bag from the store again.

Making kale chips together from scratch

I know the idea of kale chips may sound weird, but trust me — they are delicious and you must try them! Even our daughter loves them and UNTIL NOW she has had an aversion to dark leafy greens. (And you know that’s been killing me!)

Making kale chips is so simple, quick, and tasty. Here’s what you do.

Kale Chips

1 bunch kale – wash, dry fully, remove stems, and tear into 3 to 4 inch pieces
1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (or Parmesan cheese)
Pinch of sea salt

Making kale chips together from scratch

To make them quickly:
Heat oven to 375 250 degrees. Mix vinegar and oil, pour over kale and toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle in cheese/yeast and salt. Toss again until kale is evenly coated. Spread in a single layer onto a baking sheet, and bake for approximately 15 20-30 minutes or until just crisp.

Making kale chips together from scratch

To make them raw:
Mix vinegar and oil, pour over kale and toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle in cheese/yeast and salt. Toss again until kale is evenly coated. Spread in a single layer onto a baking sheet, and dehydrate at 115 degrees for 4-6 hours until crispy.

Making kale chips together from scratch

Enjoy them on their own or crumbled on top of quinoa, baked potatoes, pasta dishes or salads. This particular batch didn’t last ten minutes in our house. We all went to town.

Recipe from Eat Drink Better.