Pecan Pie Energy Balls

I got a Thermomix for Christmas. Having been diagnosed with high blood pressure last year, I have had to make a lot of dietary changes ... basically needing to make EVERYTHING (processed) from scratch. I kept thinking that a Thermomix would really help me do that! I was given the opportunity to borrow one from a friend for a few weeks to see they are really all that they are touted to be. They are ... and more! And now, one lives in my kitchen. I'm still learning how to use it to it's full capacity but I use it A LOT!

 

One thing I've been wanting to make is energy balls and when I saw a few recipes for Pecan Pie flavoured ones, I HAD to try them.  (I didn't use any one recipe but a  combination of a few.) I've made these a few times since!!  They are amazing.  Or should I say amazeballs? You know, since they are balls ... No?  Ok ... forget I said that.

Now ... you don't need a Thermomix to make these.  You could totally make them in a food processor. (You might want to do the nuts and dates separately and then add everything else?)

Thermomix measures in grams (right in the machine!!) so I'll put the measurements in grams ... sorry, you'll just have to grab out your kitchen scales!

350g pitted dates

65g rolled oats

30g pure maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract (I use my homemade vanilla)

1 tsp cinnamon

180g pecans

Chuck them all in the Thermomix together ... 12 seconds on speed 7. 

Roll them into balls.  

And that's it!!

Keep in fridge.  Not that they keep very long ... they get gobbled up pretty quick in this house!

Paleo Cinnamon Buns

The other day I made cinnamon buns for a friend's birthday.  A mutual friend, who happened to be coming over for dinner last night, heard about it and sent me a text asking if I could make paleo cinnamon buns for dessert.  It was a total joke.  I laughed about it but then I thought ... hmm ... I wonder.  And so I googled and shopped and made something that was actually quite delicious.  They weren't fluffy like regular cinnamon buns, but the flavor was good and quite reminiscent of ... well, cinnamon buns!  I used the dough in this recipe  but had a strange experience with the tapioca flour so had to change the method a bit.  I used the filling ingredients from this recipe but again I changed the method ... mainly because I didn't read the recipe right.  I made up the glaze.

For the dough:

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup tapioca flour

1/2 cup coconut flour

2 TBLS honey

1 egg

For the filling:

1/2 cup dates

1/2 cup pecans

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1.5 TBLS butter, melted

1.5 TBLS coconut oil, melted

For the glaze:

4 TBLS coconut sweet spread

2 TBLS tapioca flour

2 tsp pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

pint of salt

Before we start ... I have to tell you about this coconut sweet spread.  It is a new discovery and it is a good one.  This stuff is so tasty! It tastes like caramel and it is ALL COCONUT.  The ingredients are coconut, coconut oil and coconut nectar.

To make the dough:

Put the coconut water, oil, sea salt, and honey into a little pot and bring to the boil.  Take off the heat and add the tapioca flour.  The original recipe said to mix.  I did ... but it was a sticky-bouncy mess, and there was a bunch of coconut oil left in the bottom that wouldn't mix in!At this stage I didn't have high hopes for the dough!  But don't worry if that happens to you, I'm fixing to tell you how to make it work.   Let the mess in  he pan cool for a few minutes and then throw it in the food processor.  Add the coconut flour and egg.  Whizz that around in the food processor for a bit.  It will look a bit like breadcrumbs.  Grab that out and knead it for a minute or two.  At this point, it all came together into a dough like consistency.  An oily dough, to be sure, but I had hope again!  Roll the dough out on a piece of baking paper.  I did mine into a large rectangle shape.

To make the filling:
Add all four ingredients to the food processor and whizz it up.  Spread on top of the dough.

Roll the dough up like you are making regular cinnamon buns ... or sushi.  I actually used the baking paper to assist in this process ...

Slice the  log into 8 pieces.  I cut and discarded the very ends.

Bake in a preheated 350C oven for 20 minutes uncovered. Cover with tin foil and bake for another 10/15 minutes or until done. I just tasted a little bit of the outside dough to see if they were done ...  Here's what they looked like straight out of the oven.

For the glaze: Mix all ingredients. Spread on top of rolls.

Sugar Free, Crock Pot Apple Butter

A little disclaimer here.  I am not an apple butter expert.  I have probably only eaten it once or twice in my life.  But, I bought 12 kilos (26 pounds!) of apples by accident the other day.  Yeah, it was on line and I thought I was buying 12 apples ... SURPRISE!!!  12 kilos is a LOT of apples!!

So ... I've made crock pot apple sauce.  Apple strudel muffins (recipe coming).  Apple crumble.  And now apple butter.   I'm in love with the apple butter.  You'll have to try it though and tell me if it can be called apple butter or if we should just call it "spiced apple thick sauce."

I peeled the apples for this apple butter but I've since read that you can do it without peeling them.  I'm going to make some more and try that, because not peeling them would make this way less time consuming!  Not that it's super time consuming, but you know .... WAY LESS! 

Here's a little video about a little gadget that helps make things a lot easier too ...

Ok ... so, this was super simple. I filled my crock pot with peeled chopped apples. I used 2 kilos of granny smiths and 1 kilo of royal gala. Next time I will probably do two kilos of the sweeter apple ... On top of the apples I sprinkled 1 tsp of ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp of the following: ground ginger, ground allspice, ground cloves and ground nutmeg. I then poured about 1/4 cup of water over the top and then gave it a stir. I put the crock pot on low and let it go for about 14 hours.

When I came back, the apples were totally cooked.  I just stirred them with a spoon and they broke down.  I got out the stick blender and blended it right in the pot.  I left it cook on low for another hour or so but I'm not sure that was even necessary.

And that's it. 

I hear you can eat this stuff on toast.  So far, I've just been eating it straight out of the jar with a spoon ...

AFTER NOTE :: I made this again and didn't peel that apples.  Did it make a difference? The only notable difference was that I didn't have to peel the apples!  This easy recipe just got a bit easier!!  There was no change to taste and as I understand it, it's desirable to leave the skin on as it contains a lot of great nutrients.

ALSO :: when I originally posted this I said to use 1/2 tsp of all the spices (other than cinnamon) but then last night when I was putting the spices in the crockpot, I realized that it was actually only 1/4 tsp.  I imagine it's probably a bit to taste and it wouldn't really matter if you put in 1/2 tsp but I've changed it in the post to 1/4 tsp because that's the way I do it ...

Pancake AND Cinnamon Roll ???

As is becoming the norm, I found this recipe on Pinterest. I didn't do it quite the same as her though. I started too but it didn't work for me ... so, I did something different.  Here's what I did ...

For the Cinnamon ...
4 tbls melted butter
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/2 tbls ground cinnamon

Stir ingredients together and set aside.

For the Glaze ...
4 tbls butter
2-ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup powdered (icing) sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Heat butter over low heat until melted. Add cream cheese and whisk until smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth and glaze like. Set aside.

You could use your favorite pancake recipe for this. I tried hers and quite liked them.

For the pancakes ...
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil

In a bowl, whisk together all ingredients til just mixed. A few small lumps is fine. Cook the pancakes using a 1/3 measuring cup to add the batter to the pan. You know how to cook pancakes right ? Depending on how hot your stove is, cook on a medium to low heat. Flip the pancake once the bubbles start popping ...

I cooked them individually and served them on individual plates. As each pancake is cooked and plated, top with a spoonful of cinnamon mixture and then glaze. Swirl and serve.

Cinnamon Roll CAKE ?!

I saw this recipe on pinterest and had to try it ! It was absolutely delicious !! Here's how you make it ...

For The Cake Layer:
3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup butter, melted

For The Cinnamony Sweet Layer:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoon flour
1 Tablespoon cinnamon

For The Glaze Bit:
2 cups powdered (icing) sugar
5 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix the cake layer ingredients together ... only adding the melted butter slowly after the other ingredients are mixed. Butter a 9X13 pan and pour in the cake layer.

Mix the cinnamony sweet layer ingredients together until well combined. This won't spread over the cake layer so you kind of have to drop it in blobs ... do it evenly. Then get a knife and swirl it. It won't be a smooth cake top ... that's cool.

Bake at 180C/350F for 30-40 minutes. Mine was still wet in the middle at 30 minutes and perfect at 40 ... or maybe it was 45. You'll just have to test it ...

Mix up your glaze and drizzle over the cake while it is still warm.

Christmas Cinnamon Buns

I was going to post this recipe last year and have had the photo sitting in a post ready for the recipe ... since LAST CHRISTMAS !! ha ha. Well, here it is ...

We love cinnamon buns. I only make them at Christmas ... and maybe if someone requests them for their birthday breakfast !

This year, I combined two recipes ... The dough came from my Breville bread maker hand book and the icing came from all recipes ... The Clone of a Cinnabon

I use a bread maker for the first part ... the sweet dough.

Water 290ml
Egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
3.5 cups flour
3 tablespoons powdered milk
1 teaspoon bread improver
2.25 teaspoons yeast

Throw it all in, turn it onto the dough setting and come back when it is done. Then you roll it out. The recipe says to roll it into a 40cm x 38cm square. Mine was for sure a rectangle ... no where near a square. I'm so not sure what difference it makes. ANYWAY ... then you melt 3 tablespoons of butter and brush 1/2 of it over the dough. Combine 4 tablespoons of brown sugar with 1.5 tablespoons of ground cinnamon and spread that over the buttery dough. You can also add chopped pecans but I never have.

Roll that up. Slice into 2cm thick slices. Put it into a baking dish (with either grease or baking paper cuz these are sticky !), cover and let rise til doubled in size. (20 minutes or so ?)

Bake in preheated 180C/350F oven for 25/30 minutes. Mine NEVER take that long. Yesterday I set my time for 15 minutes and then again for another 5 and they were done ...

While they are baking...

Make the icing ...

3 oz/85g cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1.5 cups powdered sugar (icing sugar)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt (i just did a pinch)

Beat above ingredients to desired consistency ... spread on warm rolls before serving ...

Yesterday, I enjoyed mine with a mug of my Mom's crock pot apple cider that I cooked all night long so that our home smelled like Christmas when we woke up Christmas morning ! We ran our air conditioner all day yesterday ... it was WONDERFUL ! I drank hot apple cider and pretended it was winter !! Merry Christmas !!

Warm Apple Cinnamon Maple Oats

A quick and easy breakfast for a cool morning.
I throw all of this stuff together and cook it at work sometimes !

All you need is ...
Rolled oats
An apple, finely diced. I like granny smiths.
Raisins (sultanas)
A sprinkle of cinnamon, ground
Pure Maple Syrup

Put the oats, apple and cinnamon in a bowl, cover (just) with water. Cook in microwave for a minute or two. Just til the apple has softened and the oats have cooked to your desired 'cookedness'. Throw in the raisins and top with a small drizzle of maple syrup. Mmmmm.