Wheat Free Dairy Free S'More Cupcakes

Hey everyone I decided to try and make s'more cupcakes that were as healthy as possible while still being delicious! They turned out amazing and I made them for my little brothers birthday. I was inspired by Sprinkles' s'more cupcake that Blake Lively designed so I created a recipe that I could enjoy being wheat and dairy free.

A S'more cupcake is pretty much a chocolate cupcake with a graham cracker crust and toasted marshmallow top.

USE ORGANIC/NATURAL INGREDIENTS WHENEVER POSSIBLE

-Preheat Oven to 325

-Place cupcake papers in cupcake pan. I made 12 big cupcakes and 24 minis. 

-For the graham cracker crust:

• 1 Box Organic Gluten Free Graham Crackers (minus one cracker if you plan to use pieces as a garnish after) I used S'moreables by Betty Mills. 
• 1/4 cup melted Earth Balance (natural vegan butter substitute) or organic extra virgin raw coconut oil. (I used Soy Free Earth Balance) 
• Pulse graham crackers in a food processor until they are crumbly. 
• Pour in melted Earth Balance or coconut oil while pulsing until mixture is combined but still crumbly. Do not pulse too much or the mixture will be gooey, and we want crunchy for this recipe. 
• Press the mixture into the bottom of the cupcake papers.

-For the Chocolate cake:

• 1 cup organic unsweetened raw cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups raw organic coconut palm sugar or 1 Cup agave
• 1 cup organic spelt flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoons Himalayan or sea salt
• 1 cup cultured coconut or soy yogurt (plain or vanilla flavor) *if you eat dairy you can use goat or greek yogurt.
• 2 eggs, preferably organic and free-range *to make vegan substitute two flax eggs. I'll show you how to make flax eggs below.
• 2 tablespoons Earth Balance (vegan all natural butter substitute) If you can't find this simply use all coconut oil.
• 2 Table spoons Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Mix liquid and dry ingredients separately then combine in a mixer. Cake batter should look like gelato if done properly!
• Pour cake batter on top of graham cracker crust into the cupcake wells. 

-Chocolate filling

• For a chewy chocolate filling drop an organic dark chocolate truffle into each cupcake. I used Vegan dark chocolate balls from Whole Foods, you could also use something that resembles a Hershey Kiss (except please don't use processed/artificial chocolate.)

-Bake! 

• Bake until center is set and a tooth pick comes out with a few crumbs on it. If you bake until the tooth pick comes out clean cake will be too dry. 

-Marshmallow topping

• One 10 oz package of All-Natural Vegan Gluten Free Marshmallows. (I used Dandie's) 
• 3 tablespoons Earth Balance
• Melt both ingredients into a saucepan on low.
• Pour Marshmallow cream into a frosting/piping bag and top the cooked cupcakes
• Use a kitchen torch to "toast" the marshmallow. If you don't have a torch try the broiler for a few seconds. Don't walk away from it, sugar burns easily! 

ENJOY!!

*** To make Vegan-- Substitute two eggs for two Flax Eggs.

Flax egg is 1 TBSP Flax to 3 TBSP water refrigerated for at least 15 min until it is a gummy gelatinous texture. 

***To make Gluten Free sub equal parts Spelt Flour for Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour

Southern Comfort Food made healthy! Fried Chicken and Cheese Grits

Buffalo Fried Chicken w/ Ranch and Cheese Grits

So we all love comfort food, but everyone knows you gotta keep that tiny waistline. One of the most delicious and equally unhealthy southern dishes that has always been a favorite of mine is Fried Chicken and Cheese Grits. Here is my version of this hearty dish, it's Organic, Gluten Free, and Dairy free.

What you'll need

For the chicken:
Two Organic/Vegetarian Fed/Free Range Chicken Breasts
Organic Quinoa Flour
Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
Organic Buffalo Style Hot Sauce
Earth Balance Butter (Vegan Butter Substitute)

For the grits:
1 Cup Organic Buckwheat Groats
2 Cups Purified Water
1 Cup Daiya Cheese (Vegan Cheese Substitute)
1/4 Cup Organic Unsweetened Soy or Almond Milk
French Celtic Sea Salt to taste
Organic Black Pepper to taste

For the ranch:
Organic Ranch Packet
Veganaise
Soy Milk


1. Boil the two cups water in a saucepan
2. Clean chicken and pound it out with a meat tenderizer
3. Cut chicken into desired size pieces. I prefer small bite size pieces
4. Dredge the chicken in the quinoa flour
5. Heat 4 tbsp coconut oil in fry pan
6. Pour the cup of Buckwheat Groats into the boiling water and reduce heat to low. Simmer groats covered until all water is absorbed and groats are cooked thoroughly.
7. Add chicken to medium high pan and fry. Continuously stir until chicken is cooked all the way through and crispy.
8. Toss in 1/4 cup Buffalo sauce and 1/4 cup earth balance to chicken. Stir until earth balance is melted and everything is evenly distributed throughout the pan.
9. Stir in 1 cup Daiya cheese to cooked groats until cheese is melted.
10. Add a splash of soy or almond milk to groats, just enough to make sure its creamy.
11. Add salt and pepper to taste


Ranch
Mix Ranch Powder with Veganaise and soy milk until it is a good taste and consistency

Here are some fun facts about the nutritious ingredients in this recipe.

Quinoa
Quinoa is rich in protein content. In fact, it is a complete protein as it contains all the essential amino acids, especially lysine, which is required by the body to grow and repair tissues.


Buckwheat
Buckwheat contains linoleic acid, vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B5, E, P), essential amino acids, minerals - chromium, copper, manganese, folic acid - and is an excellent source of magnesium.


Coconut oil
In addition to a whole host of amino acids, coconut is also a great source of the minerals potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and manganese, as well as vitamin C and riboflavin (vitamin B2). Also contains Omega 3 fatty acids!