Pumpkin Cacao Muffins + A Giveaway!

Yesterday was the first day of fall and I wasn't going to get excited or anything until I walked outside and there.was.a.BREEZE. A real, cool, dare I say chilly breeze. Can we just ignore the middle part of the day that lapsed back into summer? Because the evening was cool and perfect as well and let's be honest, breezes are a clear sign of fall. And fall = pumpkins. And pumpkin = all the baking things. 

Now, you may be wondering....can this girl spell? Doesn't she know it's cocOA, not cocAO powder? Well, you'd be right, except that cacao is actually chocolate in it's raw, unprocessed form. It's basically the same thing as unsweetened Hershey's cocoa powder but with a TON more nutritional value. Filled with magnesium, fiber, calcium, and loaded with antioxidants.  It's classified as a super food. Just tell yourself: I'm eating a superfood muffin this morning. 

Now don't you feel better about the day already? 

Not that you had to convince yourself that pumpkin and chocolate were a good idea. 

Yields: 12 muffins

Ingredients: 

Dry

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

¾ cup organic cane sugar

2 tablespoons cacao powder (or unsweetened cocoa powder)

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

pinch of nutmeg

Wet

2 eggs

2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin purée

cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 f 

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients and whisk together. 

In a stand mixer* with the flat beater attachment, add eggs, coconut oil and

vanilla and mix on medium speed until completely combined. Turn mixer off and add

pumpkin purée. Turn back on to medium and blend until smooth. 

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet a little at a time. Use a rubber spatula to push

down any ingredients that lifted on the sides of the bowl. Mix on low speed until smooth. 

Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray and using a 1/3 measuring cup fill the tins with batter.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the middle of the muffin. If it comes out clean, it's done!

*you can also use a hand mixer or whisk if you don't have a stand mixer. 

***

In the spirit of loving food I am teaming up with some lovely ladies and giving away 2 cookbooks and a copy of a recent favorite book, Notes from a Blue Bike by Tsh Oxenrieder. I'll admit, I'm drooling over these two cookbooks myself. They have the most beautiful stories to accompany their show stopping recipes!

Oh Simple Thoughts / Gather Around Our Table / 23 Magnolia Street / Life with the Casterlines / Elah Tree / Sew My Soul / With Flowers in my Hair / Seasons with the Strattons / Wetherills Say I Do / Tiny Painter / Newly Nabors / Butcher's Niche 

The winner will be announced this Friday so stay tuned and play fair! All entries will be verified. Have fun!! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bread + Wine Project // Chocolate Cream Pie

Joining in on Oh Simple Thought's Bread & Wine Link Up today to share a decadent dessert with you! Each month we get together to share recipes with one another and talk about an aspect of gathering folks around our tables and filling our homes to glorify God and build community. 

We want our home to be a safe place for those who enter in. I like our home to be picked up but not to the point of being unrealistic.  Y'all know what I mean. My goal is to extend a sense of invitation and warmth. The other side of this coin is allowing our day to still rest in our homes so that those who come over know life is really happening over here. I never want to put out the impression that this ship runs smooth sailing every day, because it does not. This may sound simple in theory, but in reality it is truly hard for me to be vulnerable in this way. 

When I settle into what really matters, I make time to pray for people before they come over, whether they are close friends, family or strangers. Praying helps me to center the time on them, and off of myself, even if it's for 5 minutes while I'm preparing our meal or giving Reaghan a bath. My mind can be so busy with so many other things and forget to slow down. It's important for me to slow my pace before we have people over so that I can truly focus on their hearts and listen well. 

This dessert has been swimming around my head for a couple of weeks now. I decided this link up would be the perfect excuse to make it! AND I was having some girls from my small group over so I knew I'd have someone to eat it ;) 

Enter my super creamy, oh so dreamy chocolate cream pie. Made with healthy all natural ingredients (minus the crust...please forgive my sins!!***). It's a treat you can feel pretty darn good about.

***If you want to make your own crust, take a couple packages of graham crackers and crush them up, 1/2 a stick of melted butter, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1 egg and a tablespoon cinnamon and mix it all together. Pack it down in a pie plate, bake at 350 for 10 minutes and call it a day. 

Ingredients:
No-bake graham cracker crust
1 cup sliced frozen banana 
2 ripe avocados
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons cacao powder (unsweetened cocoa powder also works)
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted


In a blender or food processor add your banana and pulse until all broken up. Add avocado and about 1/2 a cup of almond milk to get things blending. Use a spoon to help the mixture along as it starts to cream up. You may need to stop the blender and mix it up a bit to allow everything to come together. 

If you need more almond milk, add a bit more, being careful not to add too much, as you don't want the mixture to be runny. Once it is fully incorporated, add vanilla, cacao powder and honey until fully blended. With the blender still on and the feeder spout open, slowly pour in the coconut oil. This will allow the cream to become fluffy. Using a rubber spatula scoop chocolate cream into your pie crust. 

Allow to sit in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to set up. Just before serving, top with coconut whipped cream and a sprinkle of cacao powder. 

Pile a handful of spoons on the table and tell your friends to dig right in! 



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Homemade Chocolate Banana Fudgsicles

When I was a kid it was a summer time tradition to run down the hill to the neighborhood ice cream truck and grab any one of the assortment of cartoon themed popsicles or ice cream cones. I was never a huge fan of "fruity" sweets, but have always loved chocolate, so of course I begged my mom for some change to buy a fudgsicle. Mmmm.....icey, creamy, chocolatey childhood goodness. 

I'm sure those fudgsicles were not the healthiest choice. With summer in full swing  I've been craving one of these lately and decided to recreate my own healthier version.

This recipe is naturally sweetened with raw honey. Avocado and coconut milk add a decadent creaminess, and it's dairy and refined sugar free! A touch of coconut oil boosts your healthy fats for the day. Who knew you could feel so good about eating something so delicious!? I love finding new and healthier versions of treats we all know and love. 

Ingredients:

1 avocado 

3 heaping tablespoons of cacao or cocoa powder

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon vanilla 

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1 cup coconut milk

A dash of salt 
A dash of cinnamon

1/2 banana, sliced very thin

Combine all ingredients except the banana in a blender or food processor and pulse until smooth. Use a spoontula to push down what might get stuck to the sides. 

Fill the popsicle molds about 3/4 of the way full. Add three slices of banana to each mold, and top off with more fudgsicle mixture if needed. Place your sticks in, and pop them in the freezer for 2 hours to set. 

Makes 6 popsicles 


Linking up with A Harvest of Blessing

“Homemade Chocolate Banana Fudgsicles” is part of a blog relaunch series entitled 

"31 Days of Responding to Him" 

Follow along here