The post Homemade Butterfinger Candy Bars (No Corn Syrup, GF, 8 Simple Ingredients) appeared first on Kitrusy.
]]>These homemade Butterfinger candy bars tastes just like the real thing but uses clean pantry staple ingredients and can be whipped up at home in no time. Trust me when I tell you that there’s absolutely no need to be intimidated by this recipe as it’s honestly quite forgiving. Don’t believe me? Give it a try and see for yourself!
One of the best things about having awesome neighbors is that they are often willing to take on the role of taste testing and are more than willing to give honest critiques, so when I took over some of these butterfingers and was informed that “these are my favorite candy bars!” you know I started sweating bullets. However after one bite, a nod of approval and a “it tastes just like a Butterfinger to me!” I was able to wipe the sweat of my brow and feel confident enough that I’d just about nailed this recipe!
Now while we like to keep things clean and simple around here, I will not tout that this is a “healthy” recipe by any means, let’s be real, it’s a sugary, peanutty candy bar, but what I will say is that we’ve been able to (successfully) replicate the original version using just 8 simple and clean pantry staple ingredients.
Candy making is always a precise science but this recipe is honestly as easy as can be. The flaky inner core is essentially a honeycomb candy that has peanut butter folded into it that’s set to cool before being covered in chocolate. That’s really it. Very easy and very forgiving when it comes to the temperature, a few degrees more or less will not impact your final product and honestly it’s both fun and satisfying to make!
A great finishing touch for this candy bar is flaky salt, a small pinch over the top of the bars before the chocolate sets can really take your bars to another level.
To a 2.5qt saucepan, add your honey, sugar, salt and the splash of water and set it on a medium-low heat. Now be sure you’re using a deep pan because this candy mixtures will froth and bubble up when we add the baking soda later to make the honeycomb.
Let your mixture simmer until it reaches about 270F on a thermometer.
When your thermometer hits 270F, warm your peanut butter in the microwave in a heat safe bowl for about 30 seconds until it’s just slightly warmed, this is necessary to not shock your honeycomb mixture or make it cool too quickly.
When your thermometer hits about 280-290F, add your baking soda to your vanilla extract and stir it together.
When your thermometer hits 285-F290F, remove your pan from the heat and add in your vanilla and baking soda mixture and stir it. It will rapidly begin to froth up, this is why having a large enough pot is crucial!
Stir your mixture for about 5-10 seconds until it is completely frothed and aerated…
And then working quickly but carefully, scrape all your honeycomb mixture over your warmed peanut butter and fold it in until it is completely incorporated. Your mix might look ribbon-like and stringy, that’s normal. As you continue to fold the candy, you’ll see it starts to clean the bowl and look almost like a dough.
At this point, pour your candy mixture into a heat-safe dish lined with parchment. You can use any shape dish you like, though I recommend using one that has straight edges so that cutting the candy bars out when it cools later on is easier. I am using a 6″ x 9″ glass dish.
Once your candy mixture is cooled enough to hold its shape once you lift it out from the dish but is still somewhat soft we’ll cut it into our bars.
Using a sharp knife, cut your candy mixture into whatever size bars you’d like. My 6×9 dish shape gave me 14 shorter bars. Once your candy is cut, let it cool completely for at least an hour at room temperature. While it might be tempting to stick them in the fridge to cool, if they’re too cold they will “shock” your chocolate when you dip them in to coat them.
Once your peanut butter candy is cooled, we’ll temper/melt our chocolate. I recommend using a small bowl so that you can get a taller dip pool for your bars.
You can temper your chocolate in a bain-marie (aka double boiler) or you can use the microwave for a quicker and easier option. To do this method, simply place 9 out of the 10 oz of chocolate into a microwave safe bowl and microwave it on 30 second blasts. Be sure you take it out and stir it after each of the 30 seconds. Even if it still looks solid after the first 30, stir it and mix it before putting it back for another 30 seconds. After 3-4 times of doing this (a total of 90-120 seconds) your chocolate should be melted and glossy. For my microwave it took me a total of 3 times – so 90 seconds – to fully melt down.
Then add back in the remaining 1 oz of chocolate we set aside earlier and stir, stir, stir until they are fully melted. Once it’s incorporated your chocolate is ready to be used.
Place your cooled peanut butter core into your chocolate and using a fork rotate your bar to fully coat them. When you lift them out, you can use a butter knife to smooth and spread your chocolate into a thin and even layer and use it to gently shift it off the fork and onto a parchment-lined plate.
With your bars fully coated and on the parchment, set them aside to cool, if your chocolate is properly tempered it should begin to harden in about 5 minutes and stay cooled and shiny. Similarly, you can place your chocolate bars into the fridge if you’d like however note that it will make your chocolate a lot harder but the inside will remain wonderfully flaky and crisp.
And there you have it, a super easy homemade Butterfinger that rivals the “real thing” but uses wholesome and clean ingredients. We hope you give this recipe a go and that you love it as much as we do!
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]]>The post Big & Soft Gingerbread Cookies – Gluten-Free & Clean Eating appeared first on Kitrusy.
]]>These cookies are big, soft, with a slight chew and packed brimming with a burst of warm, zesty spices. Gluten-free and wholesome, these cookies just scream the holiday times to us.
From crisp snaps to candy-decorated houses to people-shaped cutouts, gingerbread is synonymous with the holiday season. Dating as far back as 2400BC, the Greeks and Romans and even ancient Egyptians all had their own version of this staple treat that was mainly used during ceremonial affairs. Centuries later, the Chinese developed their own version of gingerbread since ginger was a well known and well loved medicinal root, but it wasn’t until the middle ages that the classic gingersnap cookie as we know it today was developed in Europe, most notably gingerbread houses from Germany (think Hansel and Gretel/Brothers Grimm!). In absolutely no time at all the recipe spread thanks to the spice and sugar trade that made ingredients more accessible to the world. Original versions of the recipe feature rye breadcrumbs being added to honey and ginger spice and they were baked until hard and sold or given out at Medieval fairs. Later on the cookie got an upgrade as it began being decorated with royal icing and featured as a mark of elegance amongst the English royals. In the 1700s the soft version of the gingerbread cookie started to become popular among the British settlers in America and it is from that recipe that today’s sweet treat is based!
So without further ado, let’s jump right into making these cookies! We’ll start by gathering the following…
We’ll begin by semi melting our butter in a microwave safe bowl. 30 seconds works well for this. You can also just use room temperature butter if you prefer.
To the butter we’ll add our coconut sugar, finely blended raw cane sugar, molasses and vanilla extract and mix it together until it’s a smooth almost caramel consistency.
Next we’ll add in all our spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, black pepper, white pepper, ginger powder and finely grated fresh ginger root. Mix until it is all evenly distributed and take a moment to enjoy the delicious spiced fragrance coming out of your bowl.
Add and mix in your egg until fully combined and worked into the wet ingredients.
Next we’ll sprinkle in our coconut flour and mix it in. Let this mixture sit for a few minutes to give the coconut flour a chance to absorb some of the liquids and soften.
Finally we’ll add in our almond flour, salt and baking powder and fold it into the wet ingredients to create our dough.
With our cookie dough made, we’ll pop it into the fridge for at least 15 minutes to set up a bit. This is a soft dough so letting it chill will help us with the next step of scooping and portioning.
At this point you can also allow your dough to sit in the fridge overnight to “ripen” and set up. This will allow your cookie’s flavors to deepen even more.
With your dough chilled, we can now preheat our oven to 350F and scoop our dough out into portions. I like to use my ice cream scooper to get evenly portioned and rounded scoops.
Place your portioned scoops onto a parchment-lined baking tray and pop them into the preheated oven.
Bake your cookies for 12-15 minutes until the edges and undersides have begun to brown. Remove your tray from the oven and this step is important: DO NOT attempt to move your cookies or shift them to a cooling rack, they will be soft and unset and will need time to set which will happen as they cool down. Let them sit on the counter in the tray undisturbed for 15-20 minutes. Once they’ve set you can then move them to a cooling rack if you like but I prefer to just let them sit on the baking tray to cool down.
And there you have it a very simple and easy to make gingerbread cookie recipe that will absolutely bring a bite of the holiday festivity and warmth to your home.
And if you’re a fan of gingerbread or ginger root on the whole, check out our other recipes:
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]]>The post 6-Ingredient Greek Yogurt Cheesecake (Gluten-Free, Egg-Free) appeared first on Kitrusy.
]]>This faux cheesecake will blow your mind. Now you can enjoy the taste and texture of cheesecake without the guilt! Rich and creamy with the iconic cheesecake flavor, this healthier version uses just 6 simple ingredients, contains no cream cheese, and as a bonus it’s also made to be egg-free and gluten-free.
Greek yogurt, much like cream cheese is known for having a wonderfully tangy flavor however Greek Yogurt contains more moisture and less fat than cream cheese does. That’s why when baked, two things happen to the Greek yogurt that allows it to set up perfectly, the first is that the heat allows the proteins to tighten up and bond together and the second is that some of the excess whey liquid in the Greek yogurt separates and some bakes off while some seeps into the corn flake crumb which allows the crust to set up once cooled and chilled making the elements of this recipe rather harmonious in addition to being healthy!
To begin we’ll make our crust by combining the melted butter with the sugar, corn flake crumb and if using your choice of ground spice. Mix until your corn flake crumb is moistened and coated with the butter. Do not be tempted to add more butter, your crumb will seem loose and seem like it needs more liquid to bind it but don’t worry.
Simply press your crumb mixture into the bottom of a buttered and parchment-lined 6″ cake pan that has a removeable base (this is crucial to allowing the easiest unmolding). Press your crumbs down as much as you can to compact it and form it into as even a layer as possible. There’s no need to try to pull the base up the sides or to make a crater, just form a flat base, and while you may think the base is too thick trust me that it isn’t and will compress and compact once we bake it. Once you’ve made your base, set it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to allow it to chill and harden.
This would be a great time to preheat your oven to 350F as we move on to the next step.
As a note: I am using an electric oven (no convection/fan) with the heating element on the top, and my baking rack is set to one notch below the middle.
To the same bowl you just made your crumb layer in (because who needs more dishes??) add your plain and unsweetened Greek yogurt or Skyr, condensed milk and vanilla extract. Mix it together until it is fully incorporated. If you like you can use a hand mixer to make things easier. Once done, set it in the fridge until your oven is fully preheated and your base is fully chilled.
Take your cheesecake base out the freezer and pour your yogurt filling over the top.
Using a spatula or spoon, spread the filling out into as even a layer as possible. You can also *gently* tap the cake pan to get it to settle.
Pop your cheesecake into the oven, if you like you can also place it onto a baking tray. Bake your cheesecake at 350F for 20-25 minutes. In my electric oven with my baking rack set one below the middle my cheesecake is done in 20 minutes. If you’re using a convection setting you may need to bake it for 25 mintues.
The short answer is yes.
The process of baking it heats up the proteins in the yogurt and allows the cheesecake filling to bind and set. It also allows some of the natural whey liquid to evaporate helping it set even further. If you don’t bake it and just set it in the fridge, you’ll have sweet yogurt on top of a corn flake crumb base, aka it will never set into a cheesecake texture.
I’ve known some people who have tried microwaving this recipe but I highly advise against that after testing it myself a couple times. The outer edges will “cook” and you’ll have an almost curdled and rubbery outer ring while the middle is fine, or a fine outer ring with a gloopy unset yogurt middle. Because of how a microwave cooks/heats food up it’s near impossible to get as even a cook as you would in an oven. For the absolute best virtually fail-proof results, bake this cheesecake in your oven.
Once your cheesecake is done remove it from the oven. You’ll know it’s done when the edges have begun to slightly pull away from the side of the cake pan and there is a darker ring around the edge. The middle should have a slight wobble as well. Keep in mind that none of the elements of this cheesecake require cooking (aka no raw eggs or the like) so don’t be too afraid of the wobble or of having an underdone cheesecake.
Allow your cheesecake to rest at room temperature until it is cooled, then cover it with foil and place it into your fridge for as little as 4 hours (or until fully chilled) to as long as overnight (recommended). This is the crucial final step in allowing your cheesecake to have the right set and texture.
Only once it’s fully chilled can you unmold it by pushing the removeable base up, or releasing the latch if you’re using a springform pan. Keep your cake on the base or slide it along with the parchment onto a serving plate. All that’s left to do is cut yourself a slice and enjoy!
And there you have it, a super simple, healthy and clean eating faux cheesecake made using Greek yogurt. With a classic flavor that you can enjoy as is or topped with your favorite cheesecake toppings we hope you enjoy being able to have your cheesecake and eat it too!
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]]>The post Gluten-Free Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies appeared first on Kitrusy.
]]>These gluten-free cookies are really something special. With an addictively crispy edge, a softer center and pockets of gooey melted dark chocolate and butterscotch toffee studded throughout, these cookies are your humble chocolate chip cookie amplified to 10!
And while I will say that making your own butterscotch toffee chunks from scratch might seem intimidating I promise you it’s SO easy to do. So without further ado, let’s get right into it making these amazing cookies. Starting with…
We’ll need to gather the following ingredients:
Making our butterscotch toffee is as easy as adding all the ingredients into a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan on medium heat (1) and stirring it continuously until everything melts together, combines and comes up to 300F (2,3 & 4).
Then, once the thermometer hits 300F, we’ll pour our toffee onto a parchment-lined tray and let it cool at room temp until it has hardened and is completely cooled (5).
Next comes the fun part! Once it’s completely cooled and hard, we’re going to break it up into small chunks. I do this by cracking it with the back of a spoon to shatter it and then I break each shard down further. You can put the shards into a food-safe bag and crush it with a mallet or rolling pin (6 & 7).
You want your chunks to be irregularly shaped and about the size of your chocolate chips. Be sure you use every last piece including the smaller dust-like bits. And there you have it! Our butterscotch toffee chunks are ready to go!
We’ll make our cookie dough in 10 easy steps.
To a large bowl, add your softened butter (1) along with the sugars and molasses, and combine together (2 & 3). Then, add in the egg and extract(s) and beat together until it is fully combined into a smooth caramel-like consistency (4 & 5). Sprinkle your coconut flour on top and mix it in, then let your mixture rest for a couple minutes to allow the coconut flour time to absorb and thicken (6).
Add in the almond flour, baking powder, salt and espresso powder (7), and thoroughly mix everything together into a cookie dough, being sure to scrape the bottom to incorporate all the flour and break up any lumps (8). Finally add in your dark chocolate and toffee chunks and fold it into the cookie dough.
Now at this point you have four options:
Preheat your oven to 325F – this is important. Most cookies are baked at 350F however at that temp the bits of toffee melts too quickly and your cookies will not bake up with the right texture or spread.
Scoop your cookie dough onto your parchment-lined baking tray, being sure to leave 2″-3″ between each one.
You want your cookie dough to be cool but still soft so that you get an even bake and spread. If you’re using dough that’s been completely chilled (or thawed from frozen) in the fridge, let your scooped out cookie dough sit at room temp while your oven preheats.
Bake your cookies for 18-20 minutes at 325F until you can see the edges and undersides are slightly browned. Once your cookies are done, take the tray out of the oven and let them cook completely undisturbed for about 15-20 minutes.
TIP! – If your cookies spread out too much or come out the oven shaped oddly you can use a silicone spatula or knife or spoon to quickly (as in within 30-60 seconds after taking them out the oven) but gently push the edges in towards the middle to reshape your cookie before they cool.
And there you have it, an intensely flavorful cookie that is sure to delight your tastebuds. And as a bonus, while these cookies are great when warm, I would dare to argue that they taste even better when chilled in the fridge as the contrast between the bits of toffee and chocolate are more pronounced and the cookie’s whole texture changes. Give it a try and let us know what you think by leaving a comment and rating down below!
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]]>The post Scallop Ceviche appeared first on Kitrusy.
]]>Bursting with bright color and phenomenal flavor, this fresh and healthy scallop ceviche is on par with any that you’ll be served at a restaurant. Simple and delicious, this easy appetizer comes together in no time and is an oceanic celebration you’re going to love!
Originating from South America where fresh seafood is plentiful, ceviche is a dish that consists of fresh, raw seafood (fish, shrimp, scallops etc.) that is marinated in citrus juice and seasoned and garnished with other fresh ingredients. Delightfully wholesome, this dish is colorful, clean, uses simple ingredients and its seasoning can be customized to suit your personal taste.
For most people your choice will be between sea scallops and bay scallops. Between the two, I highly recommend using bay scallops. They’re caught or farmed closer to the shore/bay and they known for being are smaller with a sweeter flavor profile and a more tender texture. Sea scallops on the other hand are caught/farmed further out in the ocean, they are much larger in texture and while they are phenomenal when seared they are not the main choice for this dish – though they can still be used if you like.
Ingesting uncooked or raw meat is a reasonable concern many people have, however ceviche is a dish that is over 2000 years old and it continues to be a delicacy around the world. The biggest key is to use seafood that is fresh (whether that means fresh caught or flash frozen). When it comes to scallops, you want to ensure that they have absolutely no smell to it except for maybe a mild waft of clean, fresh, slightly sweet, seaweed/ocean. If your scallops smell even remotely fishy, feel slimy, or have a greyish appearance, DO NOT use it for this recipe. Those are classical signs that scallops are going or have gone bad.
Now most of us know that cooking involves some kind of heat application, but ceviche simply marinates in lime or lemon juice so how can this be considered “cooking”? Technically it’s not, but what does happen is the citric acid in the juice interacts with the proteins of the scallops and breaks them down to “cook” them. More to that, the juice has amazing antibacterial properties that will kill germs and bacteria on the surface of the scallops making them safe to eat.
I actually came across this really amazing video showing a view under a microscope of What Happens When Lime Juice is Added to Pond Water and another one showing What Happens When Lemon Juice is Added to Pond Water and it’s quite amazing to see how efficient and effective (and instantaneously) it works to kill most of the bacteria.
With our ingredients prepped and ready to go making this ceviche is as simple as…
We’ll start by adding our scallops to a clean, non-reactive bowl or dish (1). I recommend using glass or glazed ceramic and recommend against using any plastic container since many are porous, or metal containers will alter the flavor since the acidity of the lemon juice may react with the metal.
Next we’ll add in all the other ingredients including the tomatoes, cucumbers, mango, red onion, jalapeno, cilantro, salt, pepper and finally our lemon/lime juice (2-6).
Toss all your ingredients together until everything is completely coated in your lemon/lime juice. Cover your ceviche and let it marinate either at room temp if it’s not too hot, or in the fridge for as little as 20 minutes.
Ceviche is a fresh dish that is made and served soon after. Allow your ceviche to marinate for 20-60 minutes before serving to experience the truest form of this dish. While you can keep it stored in the marinade in the fridge for up to 3 days, the lemon juice will continue to break down the seafood and essentially pickle your fish after 2 hours, which honestly doesn’t really affect the taste, flavor or textures that much.
Ceviche is best enjoyed as a dip of sorts so pair your ceviche with tortilla chips (corn or flour), plantain chips, tostadas or even potato chips. That way you can scoop up bites of this delightfully refreshing dish.
And there you have it, clean and simple, we hope you love this classic ceviche as much as we do! And if you can, don’t forget to leave a rating on the recipe and let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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]]>The post Restaurant Style Shrimp Fried Rice appeared first on Kitrusy.
]]>Whether you’re looking to use up leftovers or in need of a quick and easy, complete, one-pan meal option, this easy homemade shrimp fried rice has you covered. Utilizing some “secrets” you’ll be able to create a restaurant quality fried rice dish that will have you going back in for seconds!
This is a bit of a trope that I’ve always known to be the recommendation and I think the reason for that is that most fried rice recipes are made from leftovers that are quickly reheated and tossed together and old/cold, day old rice is ideal for this purpose. Another reason for this trope is that ideally you DO want the rice to be as dry as possible and cold rice has dried out a bit as it’s no longer steaming or hot.
With that in mind, the answer for if you NEED to use day old rice is no. You can use rice that you’ve cooked on the same day however if you do, you’ll want to spread the hot rice out onto a sheet pan and fan it or allow it to release all of the steam/heat and come to room temperature. That will essentially remove enough moisture to ensure your fried rice isn’t soggy.
Before we begin, let’s go over some of the tips and tricks to ensure a great fried rice every single time that is as close to restaurant quality fried rice.
Ensure you have all your ingredients lined up in order and ready to go.
Grab the largest wok or skillet you have, set it on med-high heat and add the oil and butter to it (1). Once the butter is melted and sizzling add in your salt and pepper seasoned shrimp, allow the shrimp to cook for a few minutes until they are pink and no longer translucent (2) then remove them from the skillet and set them aside. Be sure to leave as much of the oil in the pan as you can.
Add in the grated garlic and ginger and flash fry for 20-30 seconds until fragrant (3) then add in your mixed vegetables. Fry your veggies for 2 minutes turning occasionally. If you’re using frozen veggies, fry for an additional 2 minutes to ensure that most of the moisture is fried off (4).
Now, crank your heat up to HIGH and add in your rice (5) and toss it with the vegetables (6). Let it sit for about 30 seconds if your pan isn’t screaming hot yet, once it’s significantly hot (you might even have a few rice grains pop), begin to toss and move your rice around constantly for 2 minutes. If your rice begins to burn you can lower the heat a bit.
Add in your sauce blend (7) and immediately continue to constantly turn and toss your rice until all grains are coated with the sauce. Fry for another 2 minutes turning constantly (8).
Now you can lower your heat again to med/med-high, and while still moving the fried rice around, pour the beaten egg all over the rice and working quickly mix it into the rice so that all grains of rice become coated in the egg (9).
Finally, turn off the heat and add back in your pre-cooked shrimp and finish by adding in the chopped spring onions (10).
With everything mixed together, let your rice sit for 5-10 minutes before plating and serving.
And there you have it, a seriously delicious but oh-so-easy to make fried rice that will honestly make you and your guests believe it was take out. Clean eating and gluten free, be sure you bookmark this recipe and if you made it, be sure you let us know what you though of it by leaving a comment and rating the recipe below!
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]]>The post The Best Gluten-Free Whoopie Pies appeared first on Kitrusy.
]]>Consisting of a luscious filling that isn’t cloyingly sweet but rather is smooth and creamy that gets sandwiched between two soft, chocolaty cake rounds, these iconic whoopie pies are, in my humble opinion, the best of everything. Easy to make and gluten-free you’re going to absolutely love these!
A New England dessert staple, the whoopie pie is also known by other names including “Big Fat Oreo” aka BFO, Black and Whites or Black Moons, and are a cakey sandwich consisting of two cake rounds with either frosting/icing or marshmallow fluff filling. Think of it almost like a slice of cake meets an ice cream sandwich’s bite texture and portability. Best associated with the state of Maine where it’s the official state treat, this early 20th century stroke of sweet treat genius’ real origins aren’t exactly known though many lay claim to it – including the Pennsylvania Dutch, but regardless of where and when, we can all agree that the world is a little bit sweeter thanks to it’s creation.
Now, you may notice that my chosen filling is almost jet black, that’s my special touch to this recipe, and would you believe me if I told you that it’s totally natural and that no dye or coloring was used? This is my version of an Oreo cookie flavored frosting that’s made using a specialty black cocoa powder! How fancy, right?
There’s a few things to know about this delicious and potent ingredient, the first of which is it’s incredibly black color and flavor that is said to be similar to oreos, well more specifically the oreo cookie which makes sense since the cookie part of an Oreo is make using…you guessed it, black cocoa! That’s why it has that incredibly rich black color that doesn’t stain your teeth and tongue like food dyes do.
So what exactly is black cocoa powder? Put simply, is an ultra-Dutched cocoa powder. Natural cocoa powder is acidic in nature, dutched cocoa powder has been treated with an alkali to reduce that acidity, and black cocoa powder has been treated even more intensely with alkali to almost completely reduce its acidity which leads to a cocoa powder that is not as bitter or as chocolatey tasting as natural cocoa powder is and that is has that iconic black hue that is reminiscent of charcoal powder.
It also means that it’s a bit trickier to bake with because it is not reactive like natural cocoa powder is (so rising agents like baking soda will not react to it) and it contains almost no fat so it doesn’t give that mouth coating richness you’d expect with a cocoa and baking with it means you need to add in additional fat and moisture (Greek Yogurt or oil tends to work best depending on the recipe) to compensate or you risk your baked goods being dry and crumbly.
For these reasons, it’s why I think the black cocoa works perfectly in just the frosting for this recipe and gives a great “Oreo Cream” touch. So do you NEED to use it in this recipe? Not at all. You can still make this recipe without it and simply substitute the black cocoa powder for any cocoa powder of your choice!
So without further ado, here’s how insanely easy this gluten-free treat is to make!
While this recipe is somewhat flexible and forgiving, I don’t recommend making too many substitutions as I’ve specifically developed it to achieve a certain taste and texture.
As always the first step is to preheat our ovens to 350F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Easy as can be, simply add your dry ingredients into a medium-sized bowl and combine it (1 & 2). I highly recommend you sift your dry ingredients (or at least the cocoa powder which I did not do…learn from my mistake! ). Add in your egg, milk and extracts (3). I recommend you start with 3tbsp of milk and once everything is thoroughly combined together check your texture and if it’s a bit too dry ((like in the above 4th image) add an extra tbsp of milk.
You want your batter to be slightly thicker than a brownie batter but still moist and soft (sticky) enough to spread a bit around the edges once your place it onto your baking sheet.
Using a tablespoon measure, slightly overfill it into 12 evenly portioned scoops and place each onto a parchment-lined baking tray with 2″ – 3″ between them. The cake rounds should spread out around the edges just slightly after about 10-20 seconds, if it doesn’t and it stays in the scoop shape, the batter might be too dry and might need a bit more milk. If however your batter spreads immediately and flattens out it’s too thin and you should add a touch more almond flour to help it thicken up a bit. You can see in the above image that it’s thick but still moist.
Using a silicone spatula shape your rounds to be the same size and shape and to get them as round as possible.
Bake your cake rounds in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes at 350F. They should spread out and rise a bit with slightly cracked tops.
Once they’re baked, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool, undisturbed on the baking tray until they’ve completely cooled down. To speed up this process you can let them cool for about 15 minutes at room temperature and then place the entire baking tray into the freezer (or fridge) for 20-30 minutes until they’ve completely cooled down.
Do not try to frost your cake rounds if they’re hot or even slightly warm. They need to be completely cooled.
To a small bowl add your softened/semi-melted butter along with the salt, vanilla and your cocoa powder (1,2). Mix the cocoa powder into a thick paste (3) and then add the milk (4).
Carefully incorporate the milk until your have a smooth paste (5) and then add in all of your powdered sugar (6). Using your spoon or spatula mix in the powdered sugar completely (7) and then using an electric mixer or whisk, whip your frosting for a few minutes until it gets aerated and glossy (8).
You want to be sure your frosting is firm enough to be able to hold its shape. If it seems too thin or loose, add in more icing sugar and whip it again.
Add your frosting into a piping bag with a large tip or you can use a sandwich bag with the end snipped off. Alternatively you can just spoon a blob of filling into your cake rounds. The choice it yours.
With your cake rounds COMPLETELY cooled and not at all warm still, you’re going to want to find them each a matching partner.
Then pipe your frosting onto the underside of half of your cake rounds. With a large tip on my piping bag, I start on the outer edge and go all the way around and end in the middle.
Just look at how glossy and silky smooth our frosting is!
Place your cake round pair on top to complete the sandwiched together whoopie pie and enjoy!
While you can keep these stored in your fridge for up to a week, I highly recommend just keeping them stored right in your freezer either in an airtight container or a bag with as much air as possible removed. Not only will they last for several months in the freezer but they never freeze into a rock solid state and can be eaten right out of the freezer while maintaining an ice cream sandwich softness to them!
And there you have it, easy and simple, clean eating and gluten free, these whoopie pies will have you shouting their name in celebration so be sure to give this recipe a try and let us know what you think about it in the comments!
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]]>The post Incredibly Easy Dark Chocolate Mousse appeared first on Kitrusy.
]]>Inspired by Heston Blumenthal’s method, this luscious dark chocolate mousse almost feels like a cheat with how easy it is to make, but the end result is an incredibly light and airy bite of chocolate heaven that positively melts in your mouth.
In addition to the ingredients we’ll also need a bowl with ice and water to make an ice bath, as well a whisk. I highly recommend using an electric whisk for this recipe if you happen to have one, if not, a regular whisk or even a hand mixer will work.
The first step is to add your milk to a small saucepan and heat it gently until it’s just beginning to steam and simmer. Don’t let it boil. We essentially want it to be just hot enough to allow our chocolate to melt in it off the heat.
Once your milk is heated and beginning to steam, remove it from the heat and add in your chocolate and spices. Allow it to sit for 1-2 minutes until the chocolate softens.
With the chocolate softened and melting, thoroughly mix it into the milk until everything is evenly combined.
Place your chocolate mixture into and ice bath and begin to whisk it vigorously.
At first it will look like nothing is happening, keep at it for a couple minutes and it will slowly begin to thicken…and then the magic happens…
Suddenly your mixture will begin to get very thick, very quickly. It will also begin to lighten a bit as the chocolate cools and sets up and the air from being whipped gets trapped in it. Keep whipping only until you have a texture that is like thick frosting. You want to be sure you don’t over whip it because it will lose that luxuriously mousse-like texture if you do and it can even go grainy.
Remove your saucepan from the ice bath and serve your chocolate mousse. This treat is best enjoyed right away but you can keep it in the fridge though note that if you do it will cool down and harden a bit. The texture of the mousse allows it to be piped to give you a rather aesthetically pleasing dish that has a smooth, creamy, airy and luscious mouthfeel.
And if your mousse’s texture isn’t right, fear not! You can melt it down once more into a liquid state and rewhip it in the ice bath until you’re able to get the texture you’d like!
The simple answer is: the magic of food science!
The longer answer is that the milk and chocolate mixture is able to first be mixed together using heat and is then cooled while simultaneously being whisked which serves to emulsify the milk and chocolate together while cooling it to a temperature where the fat solids can solidify and stabilize, and since the mixture is being vigorously whipped, that forces air into the mix which is then trapped as the mixture solidifies and cools down.
And there you have it. A ridiculously easy chocolate mousse that uses a minimum of two ingredients that you can whip up (literally!) in under ten minutes! It’s clean eating, gluten-free, egg-free, time-friendly and the texture is phenomenally addictive. Seriously, give this one a try and when you do, let us know what you think of it by rating the recipe and leaving a comment below!
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]]>The post Easy 5 Ingredient Lemon Curd appeared first on Kitrusy.
]]>Clean eating, gluten-free, and lacto-ovo vegetarian friendly, this easy lemon curd requires just 5 simple pantry-staple ingredients and can be whipped up in no time. Sweet and tart, you can enjoy this versatile filling in a variety of ways so without further ado let’s get right into it!
Pro-tip! Get the zest from the lemons first before juicing. This will make it easier than trying to zest an already juiced lemon half. Also, be sure to strain your lemon juice to remove any pulp or seeds.
If you don’t have a juicer and are juicing your lemons by hand, a great and easy way to extract the juice is to insert the tines of a fork into the cut face of the lemon and then, while squeezing the lemon half with one hand, gently wiggle and work the fork side to side to allow all of the juice to easily flow out. If you like you can then rotate the half 90 degrees and do it again so you get every last zesty, tangy drop of gold!
To a small saucepan with a heavy bottom, add your eggs, sugar, and lemon zest (1) and using whisk (electric works best) whisk it until fully combined and frothy (2). Then, whisk in your lemon juice and whisk again until it starts to thicken slightly (3). Add all your butter pieces to the pot and place it onto your stovetop (4).
Once you place your saucepan on the heat, you want to put it on the lowest setting possible. I cannot stress this enough. DO NOT USE HIGH HEAT. If you do, your lemon curd will fail and will become chunky or split.
Double Boiler: If you know that your particular stovetop runs too hot even on the lowest setting then a great and simple solution is to make a double boiler to ensure that your curd is cooked gently. To do this, simply fill a pot with an inch or two of water. Bring that water to a simmer and then place a heat-safe bowl (glass or pyrex is the best option) with your lemon curd mixture in it that is slightly larger than the pot over the simmering water. This will allow the steam of the simmering water to gently heat the bowl and cook your lemon curd.
Stir until the butter melts and once it does, begin to whisk it constantly while keeping it on low heat for about 8 minutes until your curd thickens up enough to coat the back of a spoon to the point where if you draw a line through the curd-coated spoon, it’s thick enough to not run or fill in the line and doesn’t run and drip off the spoon. If you have a thermometer, it will be around 170F.
Do not overcook your curd, as that will cause it to be grainy.
Strain your lemon curd by pouring it through a fine mesh strainer to remove the lemon zest and any bits of egg that may have solidified (8). We want our lemon curd to be as smooth and silky as possible. Using a spoon or spatula, press the mixture through the strainer to encourage it through (9). Discard any solids in the strainer.
Add your vanilla extract to the strained lemon curd and mix it in (10), then, allow your lemon curd to cool to room temperature (11) before placing it in the fridge to chill and set up completely – I recommend at least two hours of chill time but longer would be even better. If you like, you can place a piece of food-grade plastic wrap over the surface to prevent a skin from forming.
This lemon curd is insanely versatile and can be enjoyed numerous ways such as:
How do you like to enjoy your lemon curd? Let us know in the comments below!
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]]>The post Cinnamon Roll Oatmeal – Easy, Clean-Eating, Gluten-Free, Egg-Free appeared first on Kitrusy.
]]>Warm and comforting and with the same sweet, cinnamon-y gooeyness of a cinnamon roll, this healthy recipe is SO easy to make that you’ll keep coming back spoonful after spoonful!
To make it Dairy-Free: Substitute the whole milk for any unsweetened non-dairy milk of your choice. Great options are almond milk or oat milk.
To make it Vegan-Friendly: As above, swap the whole milk for any unsweetened non-dairy milk of your choice and omit the use of butter or use your favorite substitute.
To a large bowl, add your oats and milk (be sure to reserve 1 tsp of milk to make your frosting). Place your bowl into the microwave and microwave it on high for 2-3 minutes.
Alternatively you can bring your milk to a simmer in a small saucepan on the stove. Then, stir in your oats, cover your saucepan and remove it from the heat and let it sit for 2-4 minutes to allow the oats to soften and cook.
Uncover your oats and while it’s still warm and steaming, add in your sugar, vanilla, butter, salt and cinnamon powder. Mix it in and cover your bowl once more and set it aside for an additional 5-minutes.
Now we’ll make our frosting. Simply get your reserved milk and icing powder…
And combine it into a very thick but still pipeable icing. If you’d like you can add even more cinnamon powder to your frosting for a stronger cinnamon kick! If your icing is too thin or watery, add a bit more icing sugar to it. Once you have your frosting, scrape it into a piping bag or a sandwich bag with a small corner snipped off, this makes piping it into a spiral easier.
Finally, divide your oatmeal between two smaller bowls and pipe half of your frosting into a spiral in each bowl. Top with more cinnamon powder if you like. Doesn’t that look absolutely delightful?
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]]>The post Crispy Roast Potatoes – Clean Eating, Vegan, Gluten-free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free! appeared first on Kitrusy.
]]>A British Sunday roast classic, these timeless nuggets of potato are incredibly easy to make and yields a bite that that is SO crispy on the outside while being soft and creamy on the inside that it is guaranteed to rival your favorite French fry! If you know us here at Kitrusy, you’ll know how much we love the humble potato, so much so that we joke that “potato is number one”. So this recipe is long overdue. Let’s get right into it…
I love it when ingredient lists are simple but the yield is a spectacular dish. This is exactly that. To make this recipe you’ll need:
We’ll start off this recipe by placing a large pot of water to boil and preheating our ovens to 425F.
While our water is heating up, we’ll prep our potatoes by peeling, washing and cutting them into chunks. The easiest way to do this is to cut them down the middle of the long side and then cut the half into as even as possible 2″-3″ chunks.
To your boiling water, add your salt and baking soda. The baking soda is an absolute must here as it changes the pH of the water and draws out the potato’s natural starches (why starchy potatoes are best for this recipe!) to the surface, as well as breaks down the pectin, the end result is a creamy exterior that roasts up to be insanely crispy and crunchy.
Boil your potato chunks until they’re fork tender. This should take about 15-20 minutes.
Once done, strain your potatoes and leave them in the pot. Set the pot aside for a few minutes to allow the steam to dissipate.
If you’re planning to use your airfryer, you’ll want to preheat it to 400F now.
You can see how the chunks are able to “dry out” after a few minutes. The steam helps any excess moisture to dissipate from the potato’s surface. This removal of moisture allows our potatoes to roast beautifully and attain that great crispy exterior. #potatogoals
Now we’ll oil and season our chunks.
Drizzle your oil over the chunks and then using a spatula or just tossing it, gently turn your chunks to coat all the pieces in the oil, you’ll notice as you do this the surface of your potatoes start to get rough and it will look like they’re just falling apart and there may even be a film of what looks like mashed potatoes in the pot, this is normal and it’s actually what we want, just be careful to not be too rough and break your chunks up too much.
Next, season your potatoes with a touch more salt and some ground black pepper.
Place your potato chunks onto a lightly oiled baking tray or into the basket of your pr-heated air fryer. Be sure you space them out in a single layer and don’t overcrowd them and don’t forget to scrape out the film of mashed potatoes from the pot and put them over the chunks, they will adhere to the chunks and brown AMAZINGLY, trust me!
If using the airfryer you will most likely need to fry them in two (or even three, depending on your airfryer’s size capacity) batches so be sure you account for that time.
The final step is to roast your potatoes at 425F in the oven or 400F in the airfryer. I recommend roasting them for 20 minutes and then gently flipping them and roasting another 10-20 minutes until they’re as browned and as crispy as you’d like.
While a classic salted potato is king in my book, sometimes you want that little extra flavor bomb, I totally get it! Here are three great methods:
In case you’re wondering why we’d season after we roast them, the main reason is that we don’t want our herbs and spices to burn and give the potatoes a bitter taste. Since we’re roasting at a high temperature, most herbs dried and especially fresh, will not stand up to the heat so to get the most out of any seasoning beyond salt and pepper, add it after.
Just look at the gorgeous browning, you can see the crispy texture and how the roughened exterior creates the perfect crust for maximum crunch while the inside is perfectly tender and creamy. But to recap, here’s how you can guarantee the perfect roasted potato bite:
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]]>The post Creamy Dreamy Lemonade appeared first on Kitrusy.
]]>This summertime drink is as refreshing as it is delicious. Made using simple wholesome pantry-staple ingredients, this creamy lemonade stands out miles above the rest.
This recipe combines two lemonades into a “best of both worlds” drink. Drawing from the viral Brazilian Lemonade recipe – a fantastic drink that is made by blending together (whole) limes with water, straining and then sweetening with condensed milk, this recipe utilizes the condensed milk element of it and pairs it freshly squeezed lemon juice from the more classic version to create a recipe that is phenomenally balanced, sweet and insanely refreshing for those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer Sip sip ahhhhh….
If you’re like me and you’re don’t have a citrus squeezer, juicer, press or any of the other gadgets here’s a super simple and easy trick to get all the juice out your lemons. It’s so easy you won’t even miss your juicer! Simply cut your lemon in half and insert the tines of a fork into the half, then, while squeezing the lemon from above and below the flat side of the fork (as you would when juicing it) gently wiggle and work the fork side to side to allow all of the juice to easily flow out. If you like you can then rotate the half 90 degrees and do it again so you get every last zesty, tangy drop of gold!
Making this drink couldn’t be easier, simply add your water, lemon juice and condensed milk into a blender jug. And trust me when I tell you that using the blender is the best method for this drink, it gets everything incorporated perfectly!
Then, blend your drink together until fully combined and blended. It really is that simple!
Do you notice that there is some separation in the above image, this happens when the freshly blended drink sits for a bit. This is normal and gently shaking or stirring it will emulsify it together once more and it does not change or affect the consistency or texture of the drink so no need to worry! As a matter of fact, this only happens when the drink is at room temp, so once it chills in the fridge, give it a shake and then you’ll notice that the separation stops happening.
If you want to avoid this on the whole, you can replace 1/3 – 1/2 of your water with ice and then blend it. This will allow the drink to be icy chilled and will stop the separation. Similarly, you can blend your drink and then immediately serve it over ice.
If you’d like to try making this more like a traditional Brazilian Lemonade which is just as refreshing then here’s how you do it…
Simply cut your whole lemons – or more traditionally limes – (zest, pith, seeds and all!) into quarters and blend it with your water for about 30 seconds until the lemons are fully broken down. Then strain the mixture and return the liquid to the blender cup along with the condensed mild and some ice if you like. Blend until smooth and fully combined. It will be frothy. Enjoy!
Want to kick things up a notch? Make yourself a summertime frozen lemonade slushie! Freeze half of your drink into an ice cube tray, and, once frozen, blend it together with the rest of the lemonade using a high powered blender to create a slushie that will transport your right to the fair!
And there you have it, an easy and delicious drink that is as refreshing as it is easy to make. Whether you enjoy this during the heat of the summer or in the middle of winter for a bright and citrusy pick-me-up, you won’t be disappointed! Cheers!
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