Gluten-Free Chocolate Muffins Recipe

Sexy delicious gluten-free vegan chocolate muffins.

Today is all about muffins. Yes, muffins. And not just any muffins. Chocolate muffins worthy of a story.

Chapter 1.

The morning was cool and bright. It was going to be one of those quintessential Cape Cod autumn days. A day tourists swoon over. Worthy of a post card with The weather is sublime- wish you were here scrawled in black gel cursive between sips of a Hot Chocolate Sparrow latte. The sky was a cake bowl of cobalt blue with that particular pink edge to it that only painters notice, the blush that softened the tree line at the north end of the West Barnstable marsh gentling the heavy greens of the pines and oaks into a bluish, almost violet gray. 

She brushed her teeth with fennel toothpaste and spit into the low slung sink, pausing to breathe. A long inhale to slow her heart. The cottage was pin drop quiet. The boys had climbed the rubber lined steps into the school bus hours ago, peanut butter and honey sandwiches bagged, milk money in their pockets. She had waved from the street and watched them navigate the bus aisle in shadow, avoiding her maternal gaze, not turning to wave back. Too risky, she understood.

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Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes with Coffee Icing

Gluten-free chocolate cupcakes.

Gluten-free cupcakes are hot. Or should I say, HAWT. Tack on vegan status, too, and you've got a trend worthy of the most BoHo WeHo GoGo. So I'm reprising this chocolate cupcake recipe to tempt you into baking this weekend. These little beauties remind me of Devil's Food Cake. Dark, moist and chocolatey. So go grab your inner Domestic Goddess by the hand and stir up some trouble.

But before we get to (what happens to be my favorite) chocolate cupcake recipe from the archives, I want to share something. Maybe it's the waxing moon, that cyclic siren pulling us toward wholeness, to embracing our shadow, urging us to let go, shed the outworn for the sake of authenticity. Or maybe it's the fresh start of a new school year, possessing me with cravings for newly sharpened pencils and thick stacks of paper, clean as a cloud. Fall always wakes me up. It conjures images of new beginnings.

And yes, there will be baby pictures.

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Mexican Hot Fudge Sauce - Vegan and Gluten-Free

Decadent dairy-free hot fudge sauce. Vegan and gluten-free.

Now that there are some super fabulous gluten-free vegan ice creams out there (have you tried the coconut milk and almond milk based ice creams?) and we don't have to settle for less than delicious, I thought I'd reprise this silky chocolate sauce recipe from the archives. Because, you know. You may have missed it. And life is too short to live without fudge sauce.

In my book, anyway.

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Chocolate Sorbet- Vegan and Dairy-Free

Rich chocolate sorbet- without dairy. Pass the spoon.

Two trends are sneaking in to recipe searches this week. The first? Super bowl recipes. You know, guy-style chicken chili and Crock-Pot crowd pleasers. Party food for the Big Game. Guacamole and hummus. Nachos. The second trend is a search closer to my own heart and its tender sensibilities.  You may have already guessed it. Because you, Wonderful Reader, are smart, savvy and, well. Let's just gush a minute with appreciation. You are downright fabulous (with impeccable taste and discernment, I might add).

The second big trend is a search for romantic recipes and Valentine's Day inspiration. You're not surprised, are you? (See, I knew you were brilliant).

I'd much rather conjure up chocolate recipes than beans and burgers. Sexy food is more interesting than AstroTurf and lines of scrimmage and backfields in motion. And what the Hail Mary is a down, anyway? First down, fourth down. All these downs and off sides. It makes my head spin.

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Dark Chocolate Brownies- The Best Gluten-Free Recipe

A rich dark chocolate gluten-free brownie that will make you smile.

I have a confession to make (although those of you following me on Twitter might not be surprised). My confession? I baked a batch of mint chocolate brownies today. And they flopped. Totally. Why? Because I made them without eggs and the egg replacer didn't work. Who knew the dense and fudgy texture of a chocolate brownie relied so much on eggs? You'd think I'd know this by now. I've had more egg-free brownie failures than I care to count. But I was hopeful. And it wasn't just pie-in-the-sky hopeful. It was based on evidence.

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Gluten-Free Blueberry Brownie Bites

Tasty little vegan chocolate brownie bites.

The idea for blueberry brownies came to me in the middle of shampooing my hair. I was thinking about a chocolate bar I'd seen the day before (what, you don't think about chocolate in the shower?). It was a slim dark chocolate confection with dried blueberries. I'm a fruit and chocolate combo fan, you see. I love berries and chocolate. Orange and chocolate. Pineapple and chocolate. Actually, is there anything that doesn't taste better with some chocolate on it?

Such are my ponderous meanderings.

I'm still waiting for my Babycakes cookbook to arrive (I pre-ordered it from Amazon) along with pastry bags and icing tips. Ever since my unexpected success developing my first gluten-free and vegan Orange Creme Cupcakes I've been dreaming up cupcake flavors and imagining sweet little gems galore. Although I was less than thrilled to learn that Babycakes bakery uses bean flours (yuck), soy milk powder (um, why?) and spelt (spelt is not gluten-free) in their recipes, I'm still stoked to get the book, hoping it will at least inspire my own gluten-free vegan beauties.

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Vegan Flourless Chocolate Cake

A dairy-free vegan flourless chocolate cake- no tofu.

A deep dark chocolate cake recipe. Just in time for Valentine's Day. And the best part? It's not only gluten-free, but vegan as well. And it's technically a flourless chocolate cake (which for some retro-fueled reason still conjures the term sexy thanks to Sarah Jessica Parker).

In full disclosure (hey, I vet my recipes okay?) I added a scant amount of buckwheat flour to help it set up without eggs, but buckwheat isn't technically a grain, is it? More of a groat, a fruit kernel. In fact, buckwheat is a cousin to sorrel and rhubarb. I could try to impress you with shout-outs to the Polygonaceae family, dropping botanical distinctions like actinomorphic and calyx as fast as Madonna drops post-Guy Ritchie boyfriends, but I'd rather leave all botany urges behind and get back to chocolate and celebrating the dream of true love. 

All in the nick of time for Valentine's Day.

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Mexican Chocolate Cake (Vegan + Fabulous!)

When vegans come to call, serve this rich and dairy-free 
Mexican chocolate cake. You'll score serious points.

Serious alchemy is afoot in the humble guise of a vegan chocolate cake recipe. You know what I'm talkin' about- those of you out there with me in spirit, baking your tender little hearts out, hoping to conjure edible bites of bliss without gluten, dairy and eggs. It ain't easy. In fact, I'd venture to say that to keep at this thing- this GF/CF and allergy-free baking thing- without losing your ever fragile sanity (never mind your sense of humor) is a heroic act.

Pure and simple.

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Gluten-Free Chocolate Brownies Recipe with Pecan Meal

A rich, gluten-free chocolate brownie with pecan flour.

Everyone needs a rich decadent brownie treat now and then. Especially if you wake up to snow and ice and no electricity. Which means of course, no heat. No hot water. No shower. Which translates into one very bad hair day. And one prickly, cranky goddess. I'm serious.

What does Mother Nature think this is, December?

Oh. Wait.

I've been deep in denial, I admit it. I've been distracting myself tweaking blog color schemes and rustling up pumpkin waffles and cozy soups and watching old Humphrey Bogart movies and downloading music pretending Autumn Shade is forever. But winter, I hate to tell you, is only twelve days away, inching closer every shivering second. It's a good thing we have a kiva fireplace and a stack of pinon outside the door. With nothing to do, I bundled up and settled in to read (long overdue) Temple Grandin's amazing book Animals In Translation.

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Gluten-Free Chocolate Biscotti Recipe- a cookie for grown-ups

Gluten-free sugar-free chocolate biscotti.

I was seriously jonesing for a crunchy coffee treat this week. But what could I make? Eating lower carb and lower glycemic means I'm eating no sugar, white flour or starches. The sweetest thing I've eaten in a month was the half of a frozen banana I tossed yesterday into a berry breakfast smoothie. Tasty, yes. But not exactly the chocolaty crisp indulgence I was daydreaming about.

As a side note to those of you following my posts on lower glycemic eating and wondering about sugar cravings and the South Beach Diet, I can report that Phase 1 is worth the two week tough love/low carb approach because it does reset your sweet tooth and diminish your gotta-have-it-now cravings for refined carbohydrates. And that's a big plus. It also banishes the carbohydrate bloat that many of us with celiac disease experience when we eat gluten-free starches. And that is a big plus. Pulling on a pair of jeans with a little room and give in the waist feels kick-ass great.

It is, however, very difficult to manage Phase 1 with multiple food allergies.

Where the unencumbered soul might eat one of Kalyn's delicious mini-quiche muffins or eggy casseroles for breakfast and Slow Roasted Tomato Hummus for a mid-afternoon snack, this intrepid gluten-free goddess was stuck popping cherry tomatoes. I admit up front- it was a humbling and hungry two weeks on a program where you are not supposed to go hungry.

My other disappointment was not losing as much weight as I had hoped to shed on the strict Phase 1. I lost two pounds. Upon deeper investigation I discovered that the stringency of Phase 1 works most dramatically on a different body type than I happen to inhabit (I'm a tall pear shape; if you're an apple body style you'll see more dramatic results in Phase 1).

So I've switched to Plan B.

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Gluten-Free Mint Chocolate Cookies Recipe

Mint chocolate cookies and a glass of ice cold hemp milk.

I'll say it up front. For all those perceptive Readers out there. This post? It's a redux slash revamp of a previous chocolate cookie recipe. Why? Because Darling, we are always tweaking and gently nudging recipes toward perfection around here. Though as you and I well know, perfection is unattainable (in the gluten-free vegan baking world, that is). But we can come close. Very close.

And with this latest peppermint chocolate chip incarnation we are a good nibble closer to the best chocolate cookie yet. So of course, I had to tweak and share. These remind me of those Girl Scout cookies called Thin Mints. Except they're chubby (though I suppose one could flatten them a bit if one was so inclined).

These peppermint laced fudgy sweethearts are crisp chocolate goodness.

We freeze ours and serve them slightly chilled. Those of you more adept at fancy baking could try creating heart shapes. (I never have the patience to fuss with dough. I'm more of rustic make a mess in the kitchen blasting Neil Finn kind of baker than a precise "mis en place" to Sarah Brightman kind of gal. But if cookie cutters are your middle name? Knock yourself out.)

These are lovely warm from the oven with an ice cold glass of vanilla hemp milk (pictured is Hemp Dream).

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Cappuccino Brownies

Cinnamon, coffee and chocolate make these brownies taste like a cappuccino.

Making a gluten-free brownie without eggs at high altitude is a nightmare. I kid you not. You try it. The damn batter never cooks- it sizzles and oozes and just when you can take it no longer, Dear Reader, you yank the unctuous mud out of the oven out of sheer boredom and disgust (they've been baking for what, three days now?) and you set them on the cooling rack only to watch them harden into what can only be described, I am sorry to tell you, as a slab of cement.

Brown cement.

Not even the coyotes would touch them.

And yes, I've tried the high altitude tricks. And no, I can't use silken tofu or flaxseed gel or mayonnaise (due to suspected food allergies). What I can do is persevere (here is where neurodiverse perseveration comes in handy). This time, it worked. Maybe it was the vegan Spectrum Organic Shortening. Or maybe it was the gluten-free vanilla powder. Who knows? All I know is this attempt (number, what? Fifteen, maybe?) is finally edible.

Not to mention, not half bad delicious.

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Nirvana Bars- Chocolate & Coconut Bliss

This recipe is a family favorite- my chocolate-coconut cookie bar recipe. Simple to make. Sweet and gooey and bliss inducing. And most important? You can offer them at any gathering without a gluten-free apology. (Would that be, Don't ask, don't tell?) Bummed about the dairy in it? My son Alex has created his own casein-free version using condensed coconut milk. See his dairy-free recipe here.

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Chocolate Chip Cookies and Vanilla Brownies

Vanilla Brownie? Or Cookie Bar? You decide.

First- thank you all for your kind and compassionate wishes for a speedy recovery from emergency hip surgery. Such fabulous readers you are- every one of you. As our Italian friend, Sandra, once said to us- in her dead gorgeous Tuscan accent-  

I love you too much!

I feel human again. Yesterday (day nine post-surgery) this sticky, prickly goddess got to sit inside the shower (they make these nifty portable shower seats now) and- Aphrodite-blessed relief!- indulge in twenty sexy minutes of hot steamy bliss. Hawaiian shampoo. Rainbath lather. Leg shaving!

One lesson a broken hip teaches you? It's the little things in life that count. The simple luxury of taking a shower shoots to gold star status- the genuine, beyond spectacular highlight of the day. Pulling on a soft clean shirt? Heaven. Sitting upright, freshly shampooed and moisturized with Eternity lotion? Divine. Twirling pasta in olive oil and garlic- in bed- next to your husband? It doesn't get any better than this.

And then there are chocolate chip cookies (that are egg-free and dairy-free- earning them treasured vegan status). They also happen to be gluten-free, wheat-free, bean-free, soy-free and nut-free. Perfect for all those cute-as-a-button multi-allergic tykes out there. Not to mention, gluten-free vegan goddesses.

Last night Steve helped me make these as cookie bars, in the style of my old tried and true favorite chocolate chip cookie bar recipe- and, Babycakes, they were a damn good match. I named them Vanilla Brownies. My trick was a small cheat. A dab of butter flavor extract. I don't usually turn to artificial flavors (in fact, this is a first for me), but when you are allergic to most natural flavors and buckets of other foods and your taste buds crave a buttery sweet treat, this decidedly un-foodie goddess figures--- Why the Hades not? But if it horrifies you to use it, Darling Reader- and just the very thought of it keeps you up at night worrying about the integrity of the cookie universe- leave it out. It's one quarter of a teaspoon. Sub it with vanilla. Do your thing. 

It's all good.

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Flourless Chocolate Cake - easy and gluten-free!

Readers' hands-down favorite: my flourless chocolate cake.

This is my go-to dessert recipe whenever I'm having guests. Everyone loves it. And the best part is- the recipe is inherently gluten-free. No substitutions. In fact, this is the same flourless cake I've been making for years. It never contained flour. The only thing I've tweaked post-celiac diagnosis is adding more coffee and vanilla.

Dear Vegans-

I'm often asked if this recipe can be veganized- made without eggs and butter. While a butter sub might work- I'm sorry to say that the recipe really relies on the eggs for structure and rise- and no vegan egg substitute is going to replace eight eggs.

That said, the good news is that I have developed a technically flourless vegan chocolate cake recipe that is fudgy, rich and delicious. So if you are craving chocolate scoot on over to my Vegan Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe.

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Dark Goddess Cake

A rich dark gluten-free cake made with almond flour

This recipe is one I've played with for years. It began in the nineties as one of those trendy flourless chocolate things with ten eggs, and has evolved into mere semi-indulgence with only seven eggs and some extra cocoa powder for a little more structure.

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