Brownie Batter Banana Bread Muffins

Brownie Batter Banana Bread Muffins - These double chocolate banana bread muffins are delightful treats made with whole food ingredients for a guiltless pleasure. Paleo-friendly, grain-free, dairy-free, and naturally low in sugar. 

Who doesn’t love a fun mashup! *No pun intended! I have combined my two favorites into one magnificent treat, paleo banana bread, and chocolate! And while I may have used different ingredients, these muffins are still paleo-friendly and naturally lower in sugar. 

What I love about these muffins, is that they arguably taste like dessert! It’s hard to believe they are nutritious enough to be considered a snack, pre-workout fuel, or a great addition to your morning smoothie! 

Bonus: these muffins freeze beautifully! The reason why I point that out is that these are now my go-to snack. I just pop one muffin in the microwave for 20 sec, or leave one out to thaw, a dollop of dairy-free unsweetened yogurt, and top with fresh bluebs and cinnamon. The best sweet snack!

As I said earlier, these muffins honestly taste like a dessert! But if you would like a more substantial muffin, then add ½ cup gluten-free oats to the batter. You can tell in the pictures which one is the oatmeal muffin version. Both are tasty and satisfying! 

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo to #fromtherootsblog on Instagram. We love seeing what you come up with! 

---

Brownie Batter Banana Bread Muffins - These double chocolate banana bread muffins are delightful treats made with whole food ingredients for a guiltless pleasure. Paleo-friendly, grain-free, dairy-free, and naturally low in sugar. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup paleo flour

• 2 large bananas (ripe)

• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• ¼ cup dark chocolate chips

• ¼ cup avocado oil

• ¼ cup coconut sugar

• 2 eggs

• 2 tbsp dairy-free unsweetened yogurt

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 ½ tsp baking soda

• ¼ tsp pink himalayan sea salt

• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

Optional: heartier muffin, add ½ cup GF oats

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray or add muffin liners to a muffin tin (about 10). 

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients minus the chocolate chips. 

3. In a separate bowl, mash bananas using a fork until you get a smooth and liquid consistency. Add the rest of the liquid ingredients and mix until smooth and creamy.

4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips. 

5. Divide batter evenly into muffin tins, sprinkle each muffin with a few more chocolate chips and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. 

6. Cool muffins for 5 min then remove and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Muffins are best served warm and even better the next day. Makes about 10 muffins.

Notes

• If you want a heartier muffin, add ½ cup GF oats! Just make sure the batter is still a pourable consistency and not too dry and thick. If it is, then slowly add in yogurt.

• Muffins are freezer friendly! Simply place in a ziplock bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, microwave for 20-30 seconds or thaw out. 

• Ingredient brands I love for this recipe: paleo flour, dark chocolate chips, yogurt. 

Very Berry Galette

Very Berry Galette - Fresh, juicy blackberries and blueberries nestled in a dairy, gluten, and grain-free buttery crust! (paleo friendly)

Before summer ends I thought I would share one of my favorite summertime activities... berry picking! Growing up in the South there was never a shortage of blueberry bushes or blackberry vines. In the summers it was always hard going home with a substantial amount of berries because we would end up eating them right off the bush.

High Hill Orchard is a small, family-owned farm in Eastern Kentucky where I love to go for berry picking and to purchase pasture-raised eggs and meat. If you live around the area, you can pick your own berries during early June through mid-August. 

There are so many things you can make with berries, but what I have found myself making all summer, due to high demand, are galettes. This recipe was actually an accident. I have researched how to make galettes before but could never find a promising recipe that was free of gluten, dairy, and grain. I don’t do this often but I had to pat my back for this one because it came out perfectly the first time!

While the ingredients and directions may seem complex, don’t fret! Galettes are easy to make and you may already have most of the ingredients on hand. One ingredient you may not have, however,  is paleo flour. Bob’s Red Mill just introduced paleo baking flour this year and I’m so glad they did! I’ve used this flour in most of my paleo baking dishes as it is made with only 4 ingredients - almond flour, arrowroot starch, organic coconut flour, and tapioca flour. Completely dairy, gluten, and grain-free as well! Now, on to the recipe!

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo to #fromtherootsblog on Instagram. We love seeing what you come up with! 

---

Very Berry Galette - Fresh, juicy blackberries and blueberries nestled in a dairy, gluten, and grain-free buttery crust! 

Ingredients

CRUST

• 4 oz cold unsalted grass-fed butter (or cold coconut oil, vegan butter)

• 2 Tbsp chilled vodka

• 1 Tbsp chilled apple cider vinegar

• 1 Tbsp water

• 200g paleo baking flour

• 1 Tbsp raw sugar + more for sprinkling over the galette

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

FILLING

• 5oz blackberries

• 5oz blueberries

• 1 Tbsp arrowroot flour

• pinch of sea salt

• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 2 Tbsp raw sugar

EGG WASH

• 1 egg white

• 1 Tbsp almond milk

Directions

1. Slice butter into small pieces and place in freezer for 10 min

2. Chill vinegar, vodka, and water by adding ice cubes to a measuring cup

3. Place flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Pulse to mix ingredients.

4. Add the chilled butter and pulse a few times. Next, add chilled liquid (straining ice cubes) and pulse to mix them in. Pulse to mix until there is no dry flour left. Squeeze a little of the dough in your hands to see if it comes together to form a ball. If it doesn't, slowly add more chilled water.

5. Form dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

6. While the dough is chilling, prepare filling by adding all ingredients into a bowl. Gently toss to mix and set aside.

7. Prepare egg wash by mixing the egg white and milk together and set aside.

8. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

9. When the galette is ready to come out of the fridge, place a piece of parchment paper down (the one you will be using for the baking tray so it's the same size) on a flat surface.

10. Generously sprinkle flour down on paper and place the malleable dough on top. Dust the top of the dough with a little flour as well. Roll out the dough until you have a rough round shaped disc that's about 12 inch in diameter. Transfer onto a baking sheet with the dough still on parchment paper.

11. Starting in the center, place the filling on top of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border from the edge of the dough.

12. Fold over the dough borders. Generously brush the top of the pie dough with egg wash. Sprinkle raw sugar over crust and filling.

13. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Remove the galette from the oven and gently lift the galette onto a baking rack to cool. (If you feel unsure about transferring the galette to a baking rack from the parchment paper then you can keep it on the paper - I haven't found mine to get soggy and cools down beautifully)

14. Serve the galette while warm and top with a scoop of DF vanilla bean ice cream or whipped cream. Enjoy!

Everything Bagel & Lox Socca Pizza

Everything Bagel and Lox Socca Pizza - Where socca bread meets bagel and lox! Gluten-free, dairy-free, and grain-free! 

Summertime = traveling so let me take you to southern France, the home of the socca bread. While strolling through the markets in France, you will find socca (healthier than pancakes) everywhere. Socca is made with 4 simple ingredients: chickpea flour, water, salt, and olive oil. As you can see, socca is free from gluten, dairy, and grain while being high in fiber and protein. 

Chickpea flour is simply grounded chickpeas and is minimally processed. You can purchase chickpea flour or make your own! If you are making your own chickpea flour, you can boost the nutritional value by using sprouted chickpeas! Like other beans and legumes, soaking and sprouting makes them easier to digest. 

Because it’s so easy to make, you can play around with the recipe. For example, you can keep the recipe plain for chili, soups, and stews. Add rosemary, oregano, and thyme for more italian recipes, or add honey for a sweet treat! 

For this recipe, I combined two of my favorite things into one dish - socca and lox and bagel. For the bagel part, I simply added red onions and everything but the bagel seasoning into the socca batter. I’m just going to tell you - this… on its own… is pure heaven! But of course if you want to take it up a notch, add smoked salmon with fun toppings like arugula, capers, lemon wedges, tomatoes, olives, red onion... the list goes on and on! 

Before you recreate this simple and easy dish, here are a few tips when making socca:

• Unless you are making a truly authentic socca cooked in a copper plate over a wooden stove, cast iron skillet is the way to go.

• Too many times I undercook socca because I worry that it will burn. You will know when it’s time to take the skillet out of the oven when the edges start to brown and pull away from the pan. 

• This may be a given but after you preheat the skillet, remember that it’s as hot as fire so please use mitts! (I might have burned myself a time or two…)

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo to #fromtherootsblog on Instagram. We love seeing what you come up with! 

---

Everything Bagel and Lox Socca Pizza - Where socca bread meets bagel and lox! Gluten-free, dairy-free, and grain-free! 

Ingredients

Normal socca

• 1 cup chickpea flour

• 1 cup water

• ½ tsp sea salt

• 1 ½ Tbsp EVOO

Everything bagel socca 

• Normal socca ingredients

• 1 Tbsp everything bagel seasoning

• ⅓ cup sliced red onions

Toppings

• Smoked salmon

• 1 handful fresh arugula

• 2 Tbsp capers

• Lemon wedges

• ½ tomato sliced

• 1 handful fresh dill

• Dairy free cream cheese

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, add flour, water, salt, and EVOO. Mix ingredients together and let sit for 30 minutes. 

2. In the meantime, preheat oven to 425 degrees; prepare other ingredients while the oven is preheating.

3. Place a cast iron skillet in the oven for 15 minutes. This will give your skillet enough time to get really hot and will ensure even cooking.

4. Take the skillet out using oven mitts and add about 1 Tbsp of EVOO. Turn the oven to broil and pour batter into skillet. Sprinkle red onion slices and bagel seasoning over mixture and place back into the oven for about 7-10 minutes or until cooked through (Edges should pull away from the pan and should be brown).

5. Once cooled, top with lox toppings and enjoy!