almond flour|Sparkles and Sprinkles

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins {gluten-free, low-sugar}

by sparkle | Sep 29, 2023 | Breakfast Recipes, Snack and Dessert Recipes

Enjoy these healthy gluten-free pumpkin muffins with a cup of tea or coffee for a treat on a cozy fall day!

For this recipe, we simply modified our healthy gluten-free cupcake recipe. If you would like the kid-friendly, visual instructions, follow our cupcake recipe, with these modifications:

reduce Greek yogurt from 2 to 1.5 cups
use 4 Tbsp. maple syrup
add 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
add 1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
add 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
add 1 cup dark chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips

P.S. We love light buckwheat flour for gluten-free baking. Light buckwheat does not have the strong taste of regular buckwheat, and it has a nice light color. We order our light buckwheat directly through Bouchard Family Farms (with a quantity discount), but if you would like to try just one bag, it is also available on Amazon.

Enjoy!

Love gluten-free baking? Subscribe to find out when we post new recipes.

Welcome to sparklesandsprinkles.blog!

Note: Some links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links. Sparkles and Sprinkles is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Other links may or may not be affiliate links. We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.

Paleo Donuts {baked, gluten-free}

by sparkle | Sep 1, 2023 | Breakfast Recipes, Snack and Dessert Recipes

On a recent trip to Nashville, we had the opportunity to go to Five Daughters Bakery. What a treat! They have delicious paleo donuts that we all sat down to enjoy one sunny afternoon… and perhaps the best part is that everyone was happy afterward (rather than the cranky behavior effect of regular donuts). We love the sweet theme of love and family at Five Daughters Bakery, so we had to snap a picture of the donut box…

Nashville is way too far away for us to be able to get these delicious donuts again any time soon (though a 10 hour drive might almost be worth it!), so upon arriving home, we experimented with recreating these delicious donuts. Our daughters (who are quite the food critics) actually said they think our homemade donuts are even better… Mama thinks the Five Daughters Bakery donuts are the winner, but then again, for a mama, it’s quite a treat to be able to find a healthy gluten-free snack for everyone without having to make it.

In this post, we share with you our recipes for chocolate chip donuts with chocolate ganache, and fresh raspberry donuts with creamy frosting.

* Plus – scroll down for a fall favorite we just added – apple cinnamon donuts *

The donuts can be made strictly paleo, using coconut oil, or the version our children like best, with butter.

Ingredients for 12 donuts (for complete instructions, please scroll down):

1 1/2 cups almond flour

1/3 cup coconut flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3 Tablespoons tapioca flour

3 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup melted butter (or melted coconut oil)

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup milk of choice

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips or fresh raspberries

Frosting/topping of choice

If you are looking for a donut pan, we recommend this one from Nordic Ware:

Let’s make donuts!

Step 1: Measure dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.

1 1/2 cups almond flour

1/3 cup coconut flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3 Tablespoons tapioca flour

Step 2: Stir dry ingredients together well.

Step 3: Measure liquid ingredients into a separate large mixing bowl.

3 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup melted butter (or melted coconut oil)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup milk of choice

Step 4: Whisk liquid ingredients together well.

Step 5: Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients and stir together well.

Step 6: Add mini chocolate chips or fresh raspberries.

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

1/3 cup washed fresh raspberries

Step 7: Grease donut pan and generously pipe in donut batter.

Cut about a 1 inch opening at the tip of the piping bag prior to filling the bag with batter.

This recipe makes 12 donuts.

Need a donut pan? We love this one from Nordic Ware.

Step 8: Bake in 350 degree oven for 13-15 minutes.

We have found 13 minutes is enough. Try not to overbake.

Step 9: Let cool slightly in pan, then transfer to cooling rack.

Step 10: Top with chocolate ganache or raspberry cream

Once donuts are completely cooled, top them with chocolate ganache or raspberry cream. This is optional, the donuts are great even without topping. (See instructions below.)

Chocolate Ganache

For the chocolate ganache in the photo, we made a super simple microwave version using just dark chocolate, butter and stevia. Simply place a dark chocolate bar in a microwave safe bowl. Melt chocolate in microwave (about 1 minute and 30 seconds). Add a few Tablespoons butter (or coconut oil), and stir with warm chocolate until well combined. Stir in sweetener to taste. Dip the top of donut into the ganache, then lift up the donut and place on a plate. Beautiful and so fun!

Raspberry Cream frosting

For the raspberry cream frosting in the photos, we used coconut cream. Refrigerate a can of coconut cream over night (make sure it is cream, not milk). Pour off the liquid and discard it. Place the cream (should be solid) in the bowl of an electric mixer. Whip until fluffy. Add sweetener to taste (such as stevia or honey). Add a small amount of fresh raspberries. Whip again until well incorporated. Use a piping bag to frost the donuts. You could also use whipped cream instead of coconut cream, or use our low sugar butter cream cheese frosting.

Try a fall favorite – Apple Cinnamon Donuts!

Add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/3 cup applesauce to the plain donut batter. Once donuts are baked and cooled, dip the tops in a mixture of ground cinnamon and stevia powder. This makes a yummy apple donut, like you might find at an apple orchard or fall festival, but our version is gluten-free.

ENJOY!

Find out when we post new recipes and craft ideas… simply click to here to SUBSCRIBE.

Thank you for joining us at sparklesandsprinkles.blog !

Note: Sparkles and Sprinkles is not affiliated with Five Daughters Bakery. Our four daughters are big fans of Five Daughters Bakery, though, so we tried to create some similar donuts at home.

Other links may or may not be affiliate links. We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.

Healthy Gluten-free Cupcakes!

by sparkle | Jun 30, 2022 | Breakfast Recipes, Snack and Dessert Recipes

Enjoy these delicious and nourishing cupcakes for your next celebration! With the 4th of July around the corner, we decorated the cupcakes with a 4th of July theme, but you could decorate them in any way you like for a birthday party too! They are delicious enough for a party, and nourishing enough for breakfast. Adding blueberries or chocolate chips to the batter makes them perfect for breakfast muffins!

You can find our “America the Beautiful” 4th of July cupcake toppers in our Etsy shop. One side has lyrics from “America the Beautiful,” and the other side has images to illustrate the lyrics. It’s an instant download, and they can be easily printed and made, using just white cardstock, scissors, glue, and toothpicks. The cupcake toppers come in the 4th of July party bundle, including a coordinating garland and games. It’s a fun project for family and friends!

Find our cupcake toppers on Etsy!

Two kitchen items we love for making it easier to make cupcakes and muffins are the Greenlife Bakeware muffin pan and silicone baby spoons.

The Greenlife muffin pan is a healthy ceramic nonstick pan that is so easy to clean! (We often butter the pan, to be on the safe side, but it is probably not necessary.)

In order to avoid scratching the pan, we like to use silicone baby spoons to easily remove the cupcakes once they are done baking.

Light Buckwheat Flour

One key ingredient in this recipe is light buckwheat flour. This is an amazing gluten-free flour that, when used in combination with almond flour, makes deliciously moist baked goods. Sadly, it does not seem to be sold in many stores. However, you can find it online. We recommend buying it directly through Bouchard Family Farms, as they give significant discounts for buying multiple bags (as low as $8.50 per bag as of the writing of this post). If you just want to try one bag, it can also be found on Amazon. We have many recipes on www.sparklesandsprinkles.blog that call for light buckwheat flour… so you can find many ways to use it! Try our gluten-free pizza, gluten-free cut-out cookies, gluten-free microwave mug muffins… and more to come!

Ready to make cupcakes?

This recipe makes about 18 small cupcakes (with batter filling the muffin openings about 2/3 full).

The recipe is gluten-free. This recipe is low-carb and does not use refined sugar. If you are making these for a crowd used to a lot of sugar, we recommend using 4 Tbsp. maple syrup, or if you are trying to make the cupcakes as low-carb as possible, opt for only 2 Tbsp. maple syrup.

If you need a dairy-free recipe, simply use suggested dairy-free substitutions.

Allow the oven to preheat to 350 degrees F while preparing the batter.

Gather your ingredients:

1 cup light buckwheat flour

1 cup almond flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups Greek yogurt (OR dairy-free substitute)

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 to 4 Tbsp. maple syrup or honey (or 4 packets SweetLeaf)

4 eggs

1 stick butter, melted; OR 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup almond milk

Optional: Toppings or additional ingredients of your choice – see below for some ideas

Gather your kitchen supplies:

Large mixing bowl

Measuring cups (2 cup liquid measuring cup, 1 cup, 1/4 cup)

Measuring spoons (1 Tbsp., 1 tsp.)

Mixing spoons

Muffin tray

Ice cream scooper

Silicone spoon

Spatula (not pictured) – to scrape the bowl

Fork (not pictured) – to whisk the eggs

Microwave safe bowl or mug (not pictured) – to melt butter

Let’s Make Cupcakes!

Step 1

Measure 1 cup light buckwheat flour.

Step 2

Pour 1 cup light buckwheat flour into the mixing bowl.

Step 3

Measure 1 cup almond flour.

step 4

Pour 1 cup almond flour into the mixing bowl.

Step 5

Measure 2 tsp. baking powder.

Step 6

Add 2 tsp. baking powder into the mixing bowl.

Step 7

Measure 1 tsp. baking soda.

Step 8

Add 1 tsp. baking soda into the mixing bowl.

Step 9

Stir together the dry ingredients until well mixed.

Step 10

Measure 2 cups Greek yogurt.

Step 11

Scoop yogurt into the mixing bowl.

Step 12

Measure 2 tsp. vanilla extract AND add it to the mixing bowl.

Step 13

Measure 2 to 4 Tbsp. honey or maple syrup AND add it to the mixing bowl. Or use 4 packets SweetLeaf.

Step 14

Crack 4 eggs into a mug or liquid measuring cup.

Step 15

Wisk the eggs with a fork.

Step 16

Pour the eggs into the mixing bowl.

Step 17

Stir until the batter is well combined.

Step 18

Place 1 stick of butter in a microwave safe bowl.

Step 19

Microwave about 30 seconds, or until the butter is melted.

Step 20

Pour the butter into the mixing bowl.

Step 21

Measure 1/4 cup almond milk.

Step 22

Pour the almond milk into the mixing bowl.

Step 23

Stir until well combined.

Step 24

Butter the muffin pan.

Step 25

Use an ice cream scooper to scoop the batter into the muffin pan. Fill each opening with 1 scoop for small cupcakes (for a total of about 18 cupcakes). If you would like larger cupcakes/muffins, add more batter to each opening (for a total of about 12 cupcakes). We made 18 small cupcakes in the photos you see here.

Step 26 (optional)

Add chocolate chips or blueberries, etc. to make these cupcakes more like muffins. We recommend placing a small amount of blueberries or chocolate chips on top of the batter in the muffin tin, then stirring gently with a silicone spoon. This helps the extra ingredients to be evenly dispearsed, rather than sink to the bottom of the muffin/cupcake.

Step 27

Place the cupcakes in your oven, preheated to 350 degrees F.

Step 28

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Larger cupcakes/muffins may need longer baking times. Bake until golden brown on top. Check that a toothpick comes out clean to be sure they are well baked.

Step 29

Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then use a silicone spoon to gently remove the cupcakes from the pan. Place the cupcakes on a wire rack and allow to completely cool before decorating them.

One more yummy variation: Want to make chocolate cupcakes?

Simply stir in 5 Tbsp cocoa powder and an extra 2 Tbsp maple syrup to the batter.

Decorate your cupcakes!

There are so many ways to decorate a cupcake! We suggest topping them with freshly whipped cream (see our easy recipe below) or Cocowhip for a dairy-free option. You could also use our butter-cream cheese frosting that we used in our cutout cookie recipe. As these toppings need to be refrigerated, we recommend decorating the cupcakes shortly before serving them. However, they can be decorated in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Be sure to store any leftovers in the refrigerator as well.

Homemade Whipped Cream!

Store bought frosting and whipped cream tends to be very sweet, but you can easily make your own with less sugar!