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Wife Mama Foodie

Making Healthy Taste Good

gluten free, dessert

March 4, 2020

Rainbow Carrot Cake Muffins

These vegan friendly rainbow carrot cake muffins are free of eggs, dairy, and refined sugar. Topped with a cashew cream frosting, they’re decadent enough to be dessert, yet wholesome enough to eat for breakfast! Gluten free option also included! Recipe updated March 2020.

Rainbow Carrot Cake Muffins with Maple Cream Frosting | Free of gluten, dairy, and refined sugar!Carrot cake is one of those sweet treats that just doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Like zucchini bread/muffins the addition of shredded veggies makes this bread so moist and delicious. You’d never know it was full of veggies!

The muffin is perfectly delicious on its own, but I like to top it with a cream cheese-ish frosting that I make with one of my favorite, dairy-free ingredients—cashews. These muffins are amazing whether you choose to frost them or not, but the frosting is a pretty delicious addition, if I do say so myself. 🙂 If I’m out of cashews or in a pinch for time, I make a simple cream cheese frosting, which is just as tasty and a little less involved. 😋

Rainbow Carrot Muffins | Free of gluten, dairy, and refined sugar!I used a combo of purple, orange, and white carrots for these muffins, but any color will do. I usually get the bag of “rainbow” carrots at the market because I just love the trio of colors. I especially love the vibrant color of purple carrots…such a gorgeous vegetable!

Rainbow Carrot Cake Muffins with Maple Cream Frosting | Free of gluten, dairy, and refined sugar!
Rainbow Carrot Cake Muffins with Maple Cream Frosting | Free of gluten, dairy, and refined sugar!Rainbow Carrot Cake Muffins with Maple Cream Frosting | Free of gluten, dairy, and refined sugar!Because these rainbow carrot cake muffins are made with simple and wholesome ingredients, they make a great snack for the kids or the perfect treat to go with your coffee or tea! Please tag me on Instagram if you make these muffins. I just love seeing your kitchen creations!

Enjoy!

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Rainbow Carrot Cake Muffins


  • Author: Joscelyn Abreu
  • Total Time: 25 mins
  • Yield: 12 muffins 1x
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Description

These vegan friendly carrot cake muffins are free of eggs, dairy, and refined sugar. Topped with a cashew cream frosting, they’re decadent enough to be dessert, yet wholesome enough to eat for breakfast! Gluten free option also included!


Ingredients

Scale

Carrot Cake Muffins: (gluten-free version below)

  • 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2/3 cup almond milk or other milk of choice
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup, honey, or coconut nectar
  • 1/2 cup melted coconut oil, avocado oil, or other oil of choice
  • 2 cups shredded carrots (I used a combo or orange, purple, and white carrots, but any color will work)
  • ½ cup chopped walnuts, optional

Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Muffins:

  • 1 cup gf all-purpose flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour, in the blue bag)
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup, honey, or coconut nectar
  • 1/2 cup almond milk or other milk of choice
  • 1/4 cup melted coconut oil, avocado oil, or other oil of choice
  • 2 cups shredded carrots (I used a combo or orange, purple, and white carrots, but any color will work)
  • ½ cup chopped walnuts, optional

Cashew Frosting: (Or use the cream cheese frosting from this recipe)

  • 2 cups raw cashews, pre-soaked and drained
  • 1/3 – 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
  • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
  • pinch of salt
  • 2–4 tablespoons almond milk (or other milk of choice), if needed to reach desired consistency

Instructions

Carrot Cake Muffins:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper or parchment liners and set aside.
  2. Into a large mixing bowl, combine the flour(s), baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in oil and milk. When that’s combined, stir in shredded carrots and nuts, if including.
  3. Divide batter amongst the 12 paper liners. Place pan into the preheated oven and bake for 20–25 minutes, or just until center of the muffins are slightly domed, firm to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Bake time may vary based upon your oven.
  4. Remove muffins from the oven and let cool completely before frosting.

Cashew Cream Frosting:

  1. Soak raw cashews in filtered water for 2-3 hours. Alternatively you can place them in boiling water for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse nuts and place into a high powered blender along with maple syrup, vinegar, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Blend and add milk a tablespoon at a time, until it reaches a smooth, spreadable consistency. Stop and scrape down the sides of the blender, if necessary.
  2. Place the frosting into a piping bag (or plastic baggie with the tip of the corner cut off) and pipe frosting onto each muffin, in a circular motion. Top with cinnamon, shredded carrot, or chopped walnuts. Makes 12 muffins.
  • Cook Time: 25 mins
  • Category: gluten free, dessert

Did you make this recipe?

tag @wifemamafoodie on Instagram and hashtag it #wifemamafoodie

You may also enjoy these similar recipes:

Simple Carrot Cake with Cashew Frosting

Simple Carrot Cake with Cashew Frosting

Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Double Chocolate Zucchini Oat Muffins

Naturally Sweetened Hummingbird Cupcakes

Naturally Sweetened Hummingbird Cupcakes

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December 6, 2016

Macadamia Nut Shortbread Cookies Dipped in White Chocolate

Delicious macadamia nut shortbread cookies dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with coconut. Free of gluten, eggs, and refined sugar!

Macadamia Nut Shortbread Cookies Dipped in White Chocolate
Every state has something that truly makes it unique and we’re celebrating that diversity in cookie form!
50 bloggers from all 50 states are partnering together to bring you 50 different cookies, with one mission — to celebrate our wonderful nation!

These tender gluten-free macadamia nut shortbread cookies dipped in white chocolate are inspired by some of my favorite tropical ingredients from my home state of Hawaii!

Macadamia Nut Shortbread Cookies Dipped in White Chocolate I came across the cutest pineapple cutter at a local baking supply store and it reminded me of these shortbread cookies I used to eat in Hawaii. I thought it would be fun to recreate these shortbread cookies to give out to family and friends so they could have a taste of the tropics this holiday season!

I took my standard shortbread recipe and made it a little healthier by reducing the amount of butter and substituting pure maple syrup for the refined sugar. I also swapped out regular all-purpose flour with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking flour, my go-to flour that I’ve been using for years. It’s my absolute favorite gluten-free flour blend for a few reasons:

  • It is perfectly formulated for baked goods with terrific taste and texture – no additional specialty ingredients or custom recipes required.
  • This flour combines finely ground brown rice flour, sweet white rice flour, whole grain sorghum flour, potato starch, and tapioca flour with a touch of xanthan gum—just enough xanthan gum to create chewy cookies and springy muffins.
  • The protein in the sorghum flour helps give baked goods an almost wheat-like texture and aids in browning, for those times you need a perfectly golden brown chocolate chip cookie. You can use this blend for cookies, cakes, and brownies!

Macadamia Nut Shortbread Cookies Dipped in White ChocolateTo the shortbread dough, I added chunks of roasted macadamia nuts, which give a deliciously nutty crunch to the cookie. Macadamia nuts, are actually native to Australia, but were introduced to Hawaii in the late 1800’s, where it thrived. Wherever you go in Hawaii, you’re bound to see boxes of the popular chocolate covered macadamia nuts or cans of dry roasted macadamia nuts for sale. Hawaii is now the single largest producer in the world of the nut (which is technically not a nut at all, it’s a seed!) 

Macadamia Nut Shortbread Cookies Dipped in White ChocolateSpeaking of nuts, I dipped the baked cookies in white chocolate and sprinkled them with shredded coconut, another popular Hawaiian flavor! Coconuts, like macadamia nuts, were introduced to the islands hundreds of years ago by the Polynesians, and interestingly, can be classified as a nut, seed, or fruit!

Macadamia Nut Shortbread Cookies Dipped in White ChocolateMacadamia Nut Shortbread Cookies Dipped in White ChocolateI hope you get a chance to try these delicious cookies! They’re perfect for gift giving and can be made into any shape you wish, although I did find some similar pineapple cutters online, which I linked in the recipe below. Be sure to visit The United States of Cookies page periodically to see the cookies being added from all 50 states! There’s even a coupon to use towards your Bob’s Red Mill flour, so you can get your bake on and save some money too!

Did you find your home state in the list? What special flavors or ingredients would you use if you were creating a cookie from your state or country? Let me know in the comments below!

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Macadamia Nut Shortbread Cookies Dipped in White chocolate


  • Author: Joscelyn Abreu
  • Total Time: 12 mins
  • Yield: 2.5 dozen 1x
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Description

Delicious gluten-free macadamia nut shortbread cookies dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with coconut for a taste of aloha in the comfort of your own kitchen!


Ingredients

Scale

Shortbread Cookies:

  • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened (vegan butter or coconut oil can also be use, but cookies may spread a little more)
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour + extra for dusting
  • 1 cup finely chopped macadamia nuts
  • ¼ teaspoon of salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

White Chocolate:

  • 8 oz. quality white chocolate, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon palm shortening or 2 teaspoons coconut oil
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup shredded coconut, cacao nibs, sprinkles, etc. for sprinkling

Instructions

  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine softened butter and maple syrup. Mix until well blended. Add 2 cups of flour and salt. Blend until well incorporated, about 1-2 minutes, and then mix in vanilla extract and macadamia nuts. Dough should be similar in consistency to the photo above. If your dough is too dry for some reason, you can add a splash of water to bring it together; too loose add flour a tablespoon at a time until it forms a soft dough.
  2. Roll dough between to large pieces of parchment paper. Dust with a little flour if it gets sticky. Use any cookie cutter to cut out shapes and place 2-inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. I found similar pineapple shaped ones here (double the size, perfect if you want them larger. My cutter is 2-3 inches tall) and here (small like mine).
  3. Place pans in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to chill the dough. This helps the cookies hold their shape.
  4. Ten minutes before baking, preheat oven to 350F. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned and center is set. The cookies will be pretty light in color. Allow to cool slightly on the pan and then transfer cookies to a rack to cool thoroughly. They can be crumbly if handled when they’re hot.
  5. While cookies are cooling, begin to melt your chocolate. Place chocolate and oil in a heat-safe bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir constantly until chocolate and oil are melted and mixture is smooth.
  6. Dip cooled cookies halfway into the melted chocolate and place on parchment paper or a wire rack. Sprinkle immediately with shredded coconut or other topping of choice before chocolate hardens.
  7. Stack finished cookies in an airtight container between pieces of parchment or wax paper. Makes about 2 1/2 to 3 dozen cookies, depending on the cutter you use.
  • Cook Time: 12 mins
  • Category: gluten free, dessert

Did you make this recipe?

tag @wifemamafoodie on Instagram and hashtag it #wifemamafoodie

You may also enjoy these similar recipes:

Gluten and Refined Sugar Free Gingerbread Cookies

Gluten and Refined Sugar Free Gingerbread Cookies

Gluten and Refined Sugar Free Shortbread

Shortbread Cookies | Gluten and refined sugar free. Includes vegan substitutions.

 

 

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

August 18, 2016

Chai-Spiced Cake with Fresh Figs and Caramel

A moist and delicious chai-spiced cake layered with fluffy and subtly sweet swiss meringue buttercream, fresh figs, and caramel! All free of gluten and refined sugar!

Chai-Spiced Cake with Fresh Figs and Caramel | Free of gluten and refined sugar
It’s finally fig season! Although I don’t have a tree in my backyard 😩 they’ve been making their way into our local grocery stores (albeit for a pretty penny). As their season is so short, I’m taking advantage of this unique and delicious fruit while I can!

I’ve been wanting to make some sort of layered cake with figs for a while now and I’ve been patiently waiting for them to come back into season. I think figs pair so well with warm spices, like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom, so I decided to make a chai-spiced cake with a creamy swiss meringue butter cream and salted caramel. What a yummy combo it is! But then again, it’s hard to go wrong pairing those delicious treats! 🙂

Chai-Spiced Cake with Fresh Figs and Caramel | Free of gluten and refined sugarI finally found a delicious frosting that isn’t choked full of powdered sugar! I’m normally not a big frosting fan because it’s usually too sickeningly sweet for me, but this buttercream is subtly sweet, yet still creamy and fluffy, like a good buttercream should be. It’s only sweetened with honey and maple syrup too! I use a combo of each so that the buttercream doesn’t have too strong a flavor of either honey or maple syrup….

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Hello! My name is Joscelyn and I love to share recipes that are healthy and delicious. Many of them are also free of dairy, gluten, and refined sugar! Pick out a recipe and let's get cooking! Read More…

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