Little Pleasures in Life

Hello! I'm getting here a little late today. I had one of those "I didn't think today was going to turn out like it did" kind of days, but in a good way. Anyway, I hope your weekend was fabulous. I had a great weekend but it was over in the blink of an eye. So, here's a quick re-cap of what I've been enjoying...

I made these yummy GF Peanut Butter bars for dessert last night. I topped part of the bars with crushed peanut M&M's (not gluten free) but you can add what you like. They're made with natural ingredients that are usually on-hand and they're easy to make and easy to adapt with different toppings.

I stayed up late last night with my husband and mom-in-law to watch a double episode of Downton Abbey. It was so worth staying up late. If you haven't caught the craze yet, you can check out what I said about it here or here.

Today, I came across this little guy and other lovely treasures that I want to bring home.

Good Morning! Have a Cupcake

Our morning sky from a few days ago. We're a bit more overcast today.

Happy Monday to you! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I had a blast this weekend at a retreat with some homeschooling friends. It was refreshing. It was fun. It was food for my soul. Before I left home, we celebrated the final birthday for our 3Cs. Our middle son turned 7. He spent the day at work with my sweet husband (his workplace is a golf course so a pretty cool place for a seven year old) and he got to chase coyotes in a golf cart, learn to drive a golf cart and hit some balls. Meanwhile, back at home, I was whipping up another new birthday treat that is gluten free. I don't have any photos to show you because they are all gone. Which I like to think is proof that they were good. The cupcakes have a good nutty flavor and texture and don't require using pricey almond flour. The frosting is rich and fudgy. Honestly, I'm wishing there were some left so I could have one. Right. Now. And given the quality ingredients, it actually wouldn't be all that bad to begin the day with one of these goodies. Here are the recipes:

Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes*
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup almonds
3 eggs
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon celtic sea salt

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Place chocolate and almonds in a food processor
3. Grind until the consistency of coarse sand
4. Pulse in eggs, grapeseed oil and agave
5. Then pulse in vanilla and salt
6. Spoon batter into muffin pan lined with paper
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 - 15 minutes (mine took a little longer to firm up)
8. Cool and frost with Vegan Chocolate Icing
Makes 10 cupcakes


Vegan Chocolate Frosting*
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (I used up my vanilla with the cupcakes so I used Hazelnut extract. Yum!)
pinch celtic sea salt

1. In a small saucepan over very low heat, melt chocolate and grapeseed oil
2. Stir in agave, vanilla and salt
3. Place frosting in freezer for 15 minutes to chill and thicken
4. Remove from freezer and whip frosting with a hand blender until it is thick and fluffy  (I got interrupted while I was making the frosting (can anyone relate?) so I had to thaw and refreeze a little bit to get it right.)
5. Frost over cupcakes

*Recipes from the ever wonderful Elana's Pantry.