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1/30/21

Homemade Keto Biscuits using King Arthur Keto Flour ..... (Update: July 1st, 2021)

 


(Using Keto Wheat Flour  from King Arthur) 
 
This week I made my first 'trial' using my regular flour biscuit recipe I've been making since the late 90's and I was very, very happy with it!
 
Almond flour baked goods are fine most of the time, but sometimes I really crave a more 'real' bread or biscuit product.  This one is obviously not made with all purpose or bread flour so it's not exactly like the good old Southern biscuits I love but it's close enough that I'm 100% happy with it.

Homemade Keto Biscuits

2 c Keto Wheat Flour from King Arthur
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
3/4 T sweetener, granulated
1/4 c real butter
3/4 c heavy cream or half and half

Preheat your oven to 450.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with no-stick baking spray.  Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Cut in the butter with a pastry blender, two forks or your fingers (my personal favorite) until the butter is incorporated into the flour mixture and it's course crumbs.  Stir in the cream with a fork or wooden spoon until it forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  (Keto flour sometimes needs a little more liquid so you might have to add 1 c cream if your dough is too dry and not coming together to a nice wet dough ball.)
 
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface (I turn it out directly onto the parchment lined baking sheet), sprinkle with more keto flour and knead only about 2-3 times until no longer sticky.  Pat or roll out to about 3/4 - 1" thick round and cut with a floured round biscuit or sharp edged cookie cutter.  
 
Cut straight down, don't twist!  This ensures high rising biscuits.  Re roll scraps up to a couple times, but keep in mind every time you re-roll the dough gets a little stiffer and your biscuits a little tougher.  Bake about 10-12 minutes until the tops are golden brown.  Makes about 8-10 biscuits.

(I put the leftovers in a simple ziploc baggy and they were really good the next day and still quite tender and moist)

 


 


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1/25/21

Rugelach - Keto Style (A filled, rolled pastry) I made Almond Filled and Sugarfree Raspberry Filled

From my Instagram account photos
  
 
I'm more of a plain pastry, pie crusts, no fruit or flavoring kind of girl.  Because of that, I would opt for a pastry over a cookie any day.  But even pastries are usually too 'filled with fruity' to for me.  But when I make my own, I get to choose.  And I get to make them low carb and sugar free.

Rugelach is a word you might not know but a 'cinnamon spiral' or 'filled pastry roll' and you would recognize it.  The kind most people make with real sugar and flour already has the rest of the 'low carb ok' ingredients like cream cheese and butter so we are half way there.

For mine, I wanted to fill it with almond paste.  But store bought almond paste and marzipan are filled with sugar so I made my own.  I divided the dough in half and did half almond and half sugar-free raspberry jam.  Both were good but the water content of the raspberry filling made them flatten out, while the homemade almond paste kept its shape.

I liked them as they were with no glaze but my family is more normal than I am and like icing and frostings on their baked goods.  So I whipped up a simple glaze of confectioner style sweetener and a little almond milk...  Oh my, they were pretty!  And my husband gobbled them up - which he normally doesn't eat too many baked goods.  He declared these something I needed to make again soon.  Since I kept the second half of the homemade almond paste in the refrigerator, I can make them again this week.
 
Basic Pastry Dough - LC and SF
 
1 c almond flour
1/2 c coconut flour
1/2 t xanthan gum
dash salt
1/2 t vanilla extract
1 - 8 oz. pk. cream cheese
1/2 c butter

Similar to a Fathead Dough but without the mozzarella, just put the ingredients into a food processor bowl with an S blade and pulse until it comes together to make a dough (pretty quickly).  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill until you are ready to use it.

When you know what filling you want, get out your dough, and divide it in half.  Roll it into a large circle, roughly 12 inches in diameter.  Sprinkle the filling you've chosen and then use a pizza roller/cutter to cut the dough into 12 triangle shaped pieces.  Start at the wide end and roll up your pastry, ending with the pointy triangle on top.  I used a metal icing spatula to help me roll up the filling smoothly.

Bake at 350 degrees on parchment paper for about 20-30 minutes depending on your oven and how big or thick your pastries are.  When they are a nice golden brown, remove from the oven and let them cool completely.

Depending on the filling you chose, you can top or drizzle with a glaze (mentioned in the paragraph above) or drizzle with melted sugarfree chocolate, cinnamon/sweetener mixture, cocoa, etc.  

Filling ideas:
Sugar free chocolate chips
Cinnamon and Sweetener Mixture
Chopped walnuts and/or pecans
Pumpkin Pie Filling
Sugarfree jams (note my opening paragraph for these)
Almond Paste


 
These are almond filled and no glaze... I love them this way as they aren't overly sweet to me.  But most people love them drizzled with a glaze and/or sliced almonds or even a powdered sweetener dusting.
 


The golden brown color... just the right time to take out of the oven
 






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Low carb and sugar free - Blueberry Cake Donuts (2 versions - fried and baked)

I knew I had put one of my donut recipes up on An American Housewife already (the apple cinnamon version) and I was shocked to see it was a full year ago.  What!?  That's impossible... well, it feels like it anyway.  A year?  But yes, January of 2020.  Ahh... 2020.  There you go.  A year that messed with everyone's head.

So the apple cinnamon baked donut recipe is up here, but today's my favorite kind.  Blueberry Cake Donuts. The photos above are from my Instagram account obviously as you can see I said the recipe would be on my website soon.  Today is 'soon'.  

TWO VERSIONS

I do not like donuts as a rule.  I do not like yeast, raised, glazed donuts at all.  Not even a smidgen. Not even the big popular name brand that everyone swoons over.  Krispy might be in their name.  I gag even thinking of having to eat one and I know with all that sugar I'd throw up.  Literally.

But I've always loved plain cake donuts and crullers. The only two kinds I like.  And if given the choice of flavors of cake donuts I'd either choose completely 'plain' or blueberry.  

I had been craving a blueberry cake donut and I had ordered blueberry extract flavoring online last summer with the intention of making them and a blueberry keto granola cereal.  I finally got the time to make the donuts and had time to make them two (2) different ways to see if I liked one more than the other.  Because I typically do not  love 'baked' donuts.  You might as well just make a muffin.  It's not the same as a lovely, delicious, traditionally fried donut.    But I did make them both ways this last time.

For this recipe, it's best to make the dough up the night before you want to make them so it has time to chill for a few hours.

Blueberry Cake Donuts (keto - low carb and sugar free)

1 c almond flour
1/2 c coconut flour
1 t xanthan powder
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t sea salt
2 eggs
1/2 c mixture of 2-3 granular sweeteners (or a brand that uses a mixture already such as allulose/erythritol or monkfruit blend)
1/3 c almond milk
2 T melted shortening (not coconut oil)
1/8 t gelatin powder - unsweetened, plain gelatin
flavoring of choice - about 1/4 - 1/2 t depending on your tastes and the strength/brand you use

For the glaze:
Extra 'powdered' or 'confectioners' version of sweetener like Lakanto or SoNourished
almond milk

In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients;  almond and coconut flour, xanthan, baking powder and salt.
In a second bowl mix the eggs with the sweetener until frothy (about 3-4 minutes) and then sprinkle the dry gelatin powder over top.

Add the melted shortening and almond milk to the egg mixture with the flavor extract or emulsion you are using; and whisk everything together for a minute to blend smooth. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together briefly; either with a paddle attachment on a mixer or by hand with a stiff rubber spatula or wooden spoon.  When blended together, cover and chill overnight or at least 6 hours.

Prepare oil for frying (if you are frying them) - I found the fry best in a cast iron deep pan with Crisco shortening.  I fried some (below) in regular canola oil first because I have a large bottle of it on hand to use up, but the almond/coconut flour really soaks up the oil something fierce!  I had to use a second paper towel on top of the donuts and press down to remove some of the oil.  Brand name shortening (Crisco) nice and hot (360-ish degrees) sealed it better so they weren't as oily.  If you are going to bake them, prepare your donut pan by greasing it heavily with shortening or butter.

Roll the dough out between two pieces of parchment.  The dough doesn't raise like wheat flour does so roll it pretty thick - about 3/4 of an inch or so. Cut out your donuts with a round cutter and a smaller one to cut the inside donut hole.  

Fry your donuts in the hot oil, one ring/donut hole at a time until they are golden brown on each side (which depending on the temperature of the oil is about 1 1/2 minutes.  If they get dark brown too soon it's because your oil is too hot.  If your oil is not hot enough they will soak up the oil like a sponge and be inedible.)

Remove to a platter lined with paper towels to drain.

If you are baking them:  roll the dough into a 'snake' form that is about the same size as the molds in your baking pan.  Form them round the molds.  Bake in a hot oven (350-375) until they are raised, and golden brown.  I found they puff up really well while baking but do fall a little bit when they come out of the oven to cool.  Let cool complete and dip the tops in a glaze.

Your glaze is made by mixing dry confectioner's (powdered) sweetener with a tiny bit of almond milk or cream.  Amount vary but you can start with 1/2 cup sweetener and add almond milk or cream by the teaspoon, stirring until you get a glaze that isn't too liquid and isn't too thick.  Add more/less sweetener or almond milk for your consistency.

Chill the donuts for a little while so they set up nicely before eating.

  

 

 

 

 

 


 


 

 

 


 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


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1/23/21

Low Carb, Sugarfree Orange Chicken (with a spicy option that is similar to General Tso's meets Orange Chicken)

  

 

Lousy photos for this one... I honestly wasn't even going to bother taking photos at all, but at the last second I picked up my older model cellphone (seriously - think the old, small SE) and took a couple pictures to post on Instagram.

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Note:  the one ingredient you might not have on hand for this and you'll want to check your cupboard for is the orange oil/extract or emulsion. I have to order mine online as I've yet to find it locally but Amazon always carries it.  Walmart usually has it although it's through 3rd party sellers and they often jack the prices up.

 

Keto Orange Chicken
(sugarfree and low carb)

1 T oil
1 T ginger powder
1 T minced garlic
2 T rice vinegar
1 T sesame oil
2/3 c (scant) white vinegar
3 T liquid aminos (soy sauce alternative)
1 t xanthan gum (thickener)
1 c granular sweetener mixture of your choice
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 1/2 t dried orange zest
1 t orange extract

Heat the oil in a pan, add the rest of the ingredients as you whisk, bring to a boil and turn down the heat to simmer.  Simmer until it reduces a bit and thickens to a nice sauce.

Use over prepared chicken chunks, and serve with a side of riced cauliflower and you can add broccoli.

Notes: This is the perfect recipe to make the day after you make homemade 'chicken nuggets' or chicken chunks.  Make double, save half for this meal the next day.  Also, I keep SunBird fried rice mixture packets on hand in the cupboard.  When I make this dish, I serve it with plain 'rice' (riced cauliflower) directly with the orange chicken and then make up a side of stir fried 'rice' using the SunBird packet.  I also added about a cup of fresh broccoli pieces to the orange chicken along with chopped green onion tops.

For the Chicken Chunks:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
egg whites
oil
Breading:  depending on your level of acceptable carbs use 3-4 cups crushed rice crispies, panko crumbs, crushed pork rinds or  a mixture of crushed pork rinds with almond flour, or keto bread crumbs
2-3 t paprika
2-3 t onion powder

Cut the chicken into chunks.  Mix 3 or 4 egg whites (depending on bit your chicken breasts are) with about 3 t oil of your choice in a bowl.  Put the breading of choice and spices in a second large bowl or a Ziploc baggy.  Now dredge the chicken into the egg white oil mixture and then breading, place on a heavily oiled pan (I line mine with foil for easy clean up).  

Spray with Pam or drizzle with more oil of choice and bake at 450 until the chunks are done, starting to get brown on the tops and crisp.  Remove from the oven (about 25-30 minutes depending on the size of the chunks you cut).   

I brush the chicken with a light sauce made from:

6 T melted butter
5 T tapatio' sauce

This makes our orange chicken spicy like General Tso's but with a heavy orange flavor too.  You don't have to brush the chicken chunks with anything though if you like your orange chicken sweet but not at all spicy.

  

 

I had a video on my instagram of the sauce simmering and I was stirring it... this is a screen shot of that, which doesn't look as cool but you can see how the sauce is thickening up - although the red pepper flakes are at the bottom of the pan so you can't see any of the spices in this picture.





 I buy my low carb, sugarfree or keto items online from either Netrition or Amazon mostly. 


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1/19/21

From my Instagram: Homemade Taco Sauce (I also recycle and refill Taco Bell Taco Sauce Bottles)

 

I've been watching the bottle of taco sauce in the door of the refrigerator go down lower and lower...  I planned to make Mexican style foods tonight for dinner and although we have a lot of homemade canned salsa on our pantry shelves, the entree' I'm making is really best and tastes fabulous with my homemade Taco Bell style taco sauce and I can/could eat this stuff with a spoon so it was time to make more.

No worries.  It takes less than 10 minutes and I can make 4 bottles worth in one recipe!  

I've been making this for 20 years. I used to put it into small mason jars or re-purposed dressing jars, iced coffee bottles, etc.  but a number of years ago they started to sell Taco Bell sauce in the grocery store and once in a while I'd buy it.  I then save the bottles and reuse them.  

I'm doing this from memory but it's so easy and follows a 4-3-2-1 pattern, I'm sure you'll memorize it in a minute as well!


Taco Sauce

3 c water
3 t corn starch

Place in a sauce pan on the stove, turn on the heat to medium high and whisk. When it's all mixed in, add;

1 - 6 oz. can tomato paste
4 t chili powder
3 T white vinegar
2 t salt
1 t cayenne pepper powder

Whisk over medium high heat just until it starts to bubble and thicken, turn down to simmer and simmer for a few minutes before removing from heat and letting cool down before you pour it into whatever containers you wish.

 

There is a video on my story on Instagram today that includes me whisking and stirring the taco sauce on the stove.

Here are some random photos I took quickly with my cellphone of me whipping up a batch quickly while the baby was playing and giving me a few minutes to do so! 

  

 

Sauce is done - filling the bottles






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1/18/21

A basic homemade sugar scrub recipe and two ideas for scents that I used: Lemon Orange and Apple and a jar of my favorite - Vanilla Peppermint

 

 

This morning I had 10 minutes free so I decided to quickly whip up some sugar scrub for the shower.  Originally I didn't plan to put it on my recipe site so I didn't even have my phone with me in the kitchen.  At the last second I decided I might want to, so I grabbed my cell phone and snapped pictures - these are those.

Although there is a very basic 'idea' recipe for sugar scrubs... you don't really need a recipe.  What you need is a few basic products (only two really... the rest are all optional) and other than that, additions are completely up to you and your nose.

A Basic Sugar Scrub

  • 1 c white granulated sugar
  • 1/2 c oil of your choice (olive, coconut and almond are popular choices) 
  • Essential oils 
  • Extracts 
  • Almond Oil 
  • Tea Tree Oil 
  •  Dried orange/lemon peel 
  • Himalayan Salt
  • Coffee Grounds
  • Lavender etc. or spices like cinnamon

Blend the sugar and oil - add 15-20 drops of your favorite essential oil scent, and/or 1/2 t of your favorite extract and mix.  Smell test and add according to your personal likes.  If you think it's too dry, add a tablespoon of oil, if it's too moist, add a tablespoon of sugar, stir, and add until you are happy with the texture.   

Spoon in to a jar with a tight lid.  Small wide mouth mason jars are perfect.

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Here is when I first started to grab items from my kitchen.

I chose coconut oil for one blend because I have a lot of it and I really don't like cooking with it.  I am low carb/keto and a lot of recipes call for it but I am one of those people who can taste coconut  in anything... even if it's a small amount.  I like some coconut candies but I really really don't like using coconut oil or coconut flour for the most part.  So I decided to use it as the base of a sugar scrub.

 

 

To the coconut oil sugar scrub I wanted to use something with orange and lemon.  I would have loved a lavender orange or lavender lemon but I don't have lavender oils or dried real lavender right now so instead, I went with....

 

 

1/2 c warmed coconut oil, a half cap full of dried lemon peel, a half cap full of dried orange peel, 1 cup of white sugar, and 1/2 t apple extract.  I added the apple after pondering the lemon/orange/coconut.  It needed one more thing to offset it just a touch and I decided apple was perfect.

It was. If I had to describe this one... it smells similar to an orange Julius drink.


 

I love the bits of dried lemon peel and orange peel.  It's really pretty!

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But now, my favorite!

My personal favorite is vanilla peppermint.

I didn't want to use coconut oil for this one so I used avocado oil as it was right in my pantry.  I have peppermint oil on hand and I used the Watkins (good) vanilla from my cupboard.  I used sweet almond oil in this one and would have loved to use the sweet almond oil for the whole base, but it's expensive and I didn't want to use my entire little bottle up, so I opted to use just 1 T.  I also added a tablespoon of himilayan salt to this one.  It has healthy properties but honestly I was hoping the pink salts would color the scrub as well; it didn't really, and I don't want to use food colors in my natural scrubs so I left it as is.

My Peppermint Vanilla Scrub

1 cup sugar, just shy of 1/2 cup avocado oil, 1-2 T sweet almond oil, 25 drops peppermint oil, 1/2 t vanilla extract and 1 T Himilayan salt.




 

NOTE:  the difference in the consistency and texture.  The top is more whippy and thick as it's made with a coconut oil base.  The bottom is more liquid as it's an avocado and almond oil base. They make no difference in use, but you may prefer one over the other.

 


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1/16/21

Keto Lemon Supreme Pie - Low Carb and Sugar Free version of my Favorite Layered Lemon and Cream Cheese Whipped Cream Pie (and a fruit option for those who don't like lemon)

My original version (posted in 2009)

1 store bought or homemade baked pastry crust
1 1/2 c sugar
6 T cornstarch
1/2 t salt
1 c water
2 T real butter
2 t grated lemon peel or 1 t dried
2/3 c lemon juice
12 oz. cream cheese
3/4 c powdered sugar
3/4 c heavy cream, whipped
1 T lemon juice or 1/2 t vanilla

Combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan on the stove. Stir in the water and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat and cook and stir for about 2 minutes until smooth. It should be thick and clear. Remove from heat, stir in the butter, lemon peel and lemon juice. I like to add 2 drops of yellow food color to the curd at this point to give it a nice yellow color. Cool to room temperature (about an hour). In a mixing bowl combine the cream cheese (softened) and powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Fold in the whipped cream and lemon juice or use the vanilla - I make it both ways. Save about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of the whipped cream for garnish. Spread the rest into the baked and cooled pie crust shell. Top with the lemon filling. Chill at least 6-8 hours. Pipe stars on the top with the reserved whipped cream.


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FAST FORWARD to low carb and sugar free days...

Just recently I posted my recipe for an old fashioned chocolate fudge pie in which I said of the crusts; "if you are going to make one... make two!"  and save it for a future dessert.  That was in this post.

I made a simple almond flour pie crust using 1 1/4 almond flour, 1/4 c zero carb vanilla whey protein powder, 1/4 t salt, 1/3 c sweetener and about 1/4 plus 1 T melted butter; mix in bowl until it comes together and press into a glass or non-stick pie tin.  Pre-bake about 12 minutes or until gold brown at 350 degrees.  Let cool completely before either using or tucking away into the freezer for a future recipe.

I used that one because I already had it made and in the freezer; but I really love my other pie crust for this pie as well;  If you want more of a traditional crust I have another favorite pie crust post here: pie crust.

My lower carb version 

1 pre baked pie crust (just above)
1 1/2 c natural sweeteners
6 T cornstarch
1/2 t salt
1 c water
2 T real butter
2 t grated lemon peel or 1 t dried
2/3 c fresh lemon juice
12 oz. cream cheese
3/4 c powdered sweeteners
3/4 c heavy cream, whipped
1 T lemon juice or 1/2 t vanilla

Combine the sweetener, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan on the stove. Stir in the water and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat and cook and stir for about 2 minutes until smooth. It should be thick and clear. 

Remove from heat, stir in the butter, lemon peel and lemon juice. Cool to room temperature (about an hour). In a mixing bowl combine the cream cheese (softened) and powdered sweetener and beat until smooth. Fold in the whipped cream and lemon juice or use the vanilla - I make it both ways. Save about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of the whipped cream for garnish. Spread the rest into the baked and cooled pie crust shell. Top with the lemon filling. Chill at least 6-8 hours. Pipe stars on the top with the reserved whipped cream.


I took the pre-made crust out of the freezer and let it set on the counter while I made the rest of the pie

Mmmm.... the whipped cream and cream cheese part of the recipe


Spread the whipped cream and cream cheese layer on the crust

Topped with the lemon filling and then the reserved whipped cream either dolloped on top, spread on top or pipe some whipped cream stars on top.


Fresh lemon juice gives this pie a lovely bright flavor but of course you can use bottled lemon juice as well.


**Note: For people who don't love lemon 

My husband does not love lemon like I do so when I bake lemon goods I either have to be sure to make them when others are at the house to help eat it or I end up putting 3/4 of it in the freezer and taking some out 'here and there' when I want it.  But when it comes to this pie I often do something else.

This pie and the cream cheese whipped cream filling is the same that I use for my 'cherry pie' that everyone that has ever had it loves.  But to make it sugar free I either have to make my own cherry pie filling or sometimes I buy the 'no sugar added' version in the store when I can find it.  It's gotten harder and hard to find though so I haven't picked any up to keep in the pantry lately.
 
When you make this pie you can put the first layer down and then use half the lemon curd for filling and fill the other half with the cherry pie filling.
 
This time, I had cranberries and blueberries in the freezer so I whipped up a sugar free filling using the both of them.  I lifted off the lemon filling from the center of the pie, filled with the sugar free cranberry blueberry filling and served it that day as a 'new' pie.  The lemon filling is under the whipped cream stars only; while the berry filling is over the rest. 
 
Since I love pie crust, lemon and whipped cream, I enjoyed the edges, while my fruit filling loving husband loved the center.  
 
It was a win/win situation.

I didn't take a photo of the filling by itself but I had taken a video and posted it on my Instagram account so I screenshot a quick photo from it.  Blurry, but you can see it in the making.  It's basically a sugar free cranberry sauce recipe with blueberries for part of the cranberries.




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1/11/21

DIY Keto and LC - SugarFree - Make up mixes to keep on hand for last minute desserts, less work, and impulse cravings

 

 

 

We have been low carb and sugar free off and on now for almost 18 years.   One of the ways to stay on task and not give into a craving that has more carbs or even sugar grams is to make sure I have options on hand and readily available.  When I fail to do this, I often will grab a non-lc item because frankly, I'm hungry, I'm getting irritable and like everyone else, when you are hungry, you're hungry!  I don't care for desserts too much - my downfall is probably breads - but even so, once in a great while I not only want a cupcake (sugar free and low carb of course) but pancakes or waffles with sugar free syrup and sometimes even (oddly for me) a brownie.

One thing I always have on hand and I don't think I've blogged about is how I keep 'mixes' in the pantry.  I may have different options at different times - sometimes cake mixes, coffee cake mixes, a cupcake or muffin mix... but I always have pancake/waffle mixes on hand.  

Nothing fancy-dancy - just an old 'mixed nuts' container with a screw on lid that I've lined with a ziplock and filled with the dry mix for a random waffle/pancake mix along with the ingredients and instructions for mixing them up.

My 'always in the pantry' pancake and waffle container



Another thing I try to keep up on is a mixture of sweeteners.

Most all keto and low carb bakers/cooks know you'll get the best flavor if you mix at least 2 sweeteners together.  There are a few recipes that are persnickety but for the most part, a mixture of 2-3 is the best.  I buy what I like or use what I have on hand (shopping sales and deals is important for us as the low carb sweeteners are so darn expensive).

Having 2-3 premixed in my 'sugar' container saves me time when baking.

This particular mixture has some golden color to it because I used a golden Lakanto along with 2 other sweeteners.

 

People that don't eat low carb or sugarfree often make their cakes and cupcakes from the cheap store mixes at the grocery.   The ease of use is awesome, I get that.  So mixing up some muffin and cake mixes for my own pantry using my own dry ingredients makes it easier to whip up than dragging out the bags and boxes and bottles and starting completely from scratch each time.

I do this on a random afternoon when I have about an hour free. 

You don't need cute labels - and I don't always add those either - it all depends.  Sometimes I just scribble on the top or a piece of tape and attach it.  

For your own DIY mixes, use your personal favorite recipe.

Layer all the dry ingredients like your almond flour, coconut flour, natural sweeteners, salt, etc. into a glass Mason jar or other airtight container.

Make sure to note the name of the recipe on the container or an attached piece of paper.

Scribble down or type the additional ingredients needed or the page and cookbook where you can find the rest of the recipe (adding it all to the jar is quickest and easiest when you are making them though!).


 

For little additions you can put a small ziplock or tiny little jar of whatever it is inside the larger jar with the mix.

Here you can see my Keto Funfetti Cupcakes use colored sugarfree sprinkles.  

Not only does including them in this tiny jar inside the larger jar with the dry ingredients make it easy to use them at the time of mixing, but I did this especially because those little sprinkles have to be ordered online, are expensive, are something I don't always have on hand and I knew I'd been disappointed if I wanted to make these cupcakes and found at the time that I was OUT of the funfetti sprinkles!

This way I know I will have them on hand when I make the cupcakes because they are already with the mix!


 

Although these are the ones I have in my pantry right now (I just pulled everything out to snap a quick picture and then they are going back in) I do plan to mix up a chocolate cake mix and a brownie mix this week as my husband loves chocolate and sugarfree, keto brownies are always a huge hit here.  

Use your favorite recipes; put the DRY ingredients into a jar/container.  Pop it into your cupboard or pantry and use it as you would a 'regular' cake mix or muffin mix before you were low carb and sugarfree!




 

 


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1/7/21

Dessert! Keto Lemon Loaf Cake

Reposting because it's just. that. good.


If you saw my Instagram tonight then you saw we had an amazingly yummy seafood dinner with mussels, scallops and shrimp in a garlic sauce along with riced cauliflower.  I served this lemony cake for dessert and... yum.  

 
Lemon Loaf Cake with Lemon Glaze

1 1/2 c almond flour
1 c sour cream (not low fat, obviously)
3/4 c Lakanto or other erythritol based sweetener
1/2 c coconut flour  (good quality)
1/2 c real butter, soft
3 eggs
3 T lemon juice
2 t baking powder
1 1/2 t dried lemon zest
1 t vanilla extract
1/4 t xanthan gum
dash of salt

glaze:
3/4 c powdered erythritol with monk fruit - or a mixture of your favorite sweeteners
1/4 c lemon juice
*a little bit of water if needed to thin it down

Heat oven to 350.  Grease a bundt pan with butter.  Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend smooth, scraping down sides a couple times.  Spoon it into your prepared pan.  Bake for 55 minutes or until the center is firm and done.  Let it cool about 30 minutes before removing from the pan, and turning out to cool completely.  Mix up the glaze ingredients and pour or spread over the cake.  The texture is even better after chilling overnight.







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1/5/21

Sugarfree and Low Carb Country Chocolate Pie (A fudge like chocolate pie with coconut and pecans in an almond flour crust)

 

 

This recipe is one many people might know of it it's original great-grandma version:  chocolate chips, coconuts, nuts and lots of sugar... in an old fashioned wheat flour pie crust.  That's not happening here so this is my take on it that I made up this week and it's a keeper.

 I LOVE pecans and walnuts but my husband does not.  So I used chopped pecans in the pie filling but I eat mine with extra pecans on the side that I scoop up and basically use like a spoon or fork for the fudge filling!


 

Country Chocolate Pie

1 c unsweetened, shredded coconut 
1 c chopped pecan pieces (or use whole and chop them yourself) 
1 c unsweetened chocolate chips (I used Lily's brand - milk chocolate but you can use semi-sweet or dark if that's more you) 
3/4 c real butter 
4 eggs 
1 t vanilla 
1 1/2 c sweetener alternative to sugar (I used an Allulose with Monk Fruit blend and Eyrithritol mixture - always use 2/3 sweeteners for best flavor) 
1 pie crust
(I made a simple almond flour pie crust using 1 1/4 almond flour, 1/4 c zero carb vanilla whey protein powder, 1/4 t salt, 1/3 c sweetener and about 1/4 plus 1 T melted butter; mix in bowl until it comes together and press into a glass or non-stick pie tin) 
 
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees while you mix up the pie.
Melt butter and chocolate chips together in a bowl in the microwave.  
Beat the eggs, add the coconut, sweetener, vanilla and nuts.  
Pour the butter/chocolate mixture in and mix.  Pour into your crust and bake about 40 minutes until done.  The edge will be rather firm but the center will still be jiggly.
Let cool completely before transferring to the refrigerator to chill.  This step is what will make your chocolate set up.  Best if chilled overnight.  Slice and serve.
 
 
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Tiny thin slices if you are keto depending on how many carbs you can handle, but it's still low carb and sugar free for anyone just avoiding flour and sugar.  (You can use a site like FitDay to input your brand of ingredients to see what your exact carb counts will be.)
 
Another note is the level of sweetness is going to change with the brands you use and what sweeteners you use.  I have a container in the pantry where I mix 3 sweeteners and then use like sugar.  Mixing at least 2-3 sweeteners gives the best flavor in keto baking (I and many think so anyway).  Depending on what you use, you may want less or more sweetener;  you can start with 1 cup and taste the batter if you want, or use the full 1 1/2 cups this time and adjust next time, yada yada.  It's your food, play with it as you wish!  :)
 



The edge is really dark and firm but the center is still jiggly.  It will set up completely once it's been cooled and chilled.




Right before I ate it.

With extra pecans.



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