Gluten Free Brownies with Maple Peanut Butter Frosting

This was my husband’s request for his birthday cake replacement. We prefer brownies over cake anyway! I did cheat a little and use a gluten free brownie mix. I really like the Bob’s Red Mill mixes but there are so many out there that are delicious too. I saw that Betty Crocker even has a gluten-free mix. Just watch your cross contamination factor when buying mixes or any flours for that matter. I try to find mixes made a strictly gluten-free factories or make my own. However, I do know how hard it is to make everything from scratch with children and working 50 hours a week – not easy! Either way – these were great. The frosting was perfect on these and gave a little hint of fall flavors with the maple flavor. For his birthday breakfast he wanted Maple Cinnamon Rolls. For some reason I made enough maple icing for 100 cinnamon rolls but I only made 12 rolls… so obviously I had an entire bowl of icing left. This was  great way to use it up – one of those rare perfect accidents!

1 box of gluten free brownie mix

1 egg
¼ cup applesauce
¼ cup plain greek yogurt
1 cup powdered sugar
½ cup peanut or almond butter
1 Tbsp maple syrup
¼ cup almond milk

• Mix together brownie mix, egg, applesauce and yogurt until well combined – batter will be thick.
• Spread batter into a greased pan (I used a 11x7 pan, but you could use a 9x9, just increase baking time).
• Bake at 325°F for about 25 minutes or until brownies are cooked through. Let cool about 10 minutes.
• While brownies are baking, make frosting. Melt peanut butter in microwave for about 15 seconds.
• Whisk together warmed peanut butter, syrup and almond milk. Gradually add in powdered sugar until desired consistency.
• Remember you are making a frosting not a glaze so you want it a little thick.
• Spread frosting over brownies and serve. Cover and store in refrigerator if you have any leftovers.
• Sprinkle with some Halloween sprinkles for an extra touch!

 

Halloween Treats - Alternatives to candy!

I’m not a fan of Halloween. I hate being scared, I don’t eat candy, and you don’t get a day off for it ha! My son is getting more into it though. Of course, he understands you get A LOT of candy and get to have a costume. It will be a challenge this year. I don’t mind if he has some candy. I know I won’t be able to completely keep him from it. His grandparents will make sure he gets a few pieces behind my back I’m sure. He won’t get much at home though. We have a few other ideas in store instead. We will also have some of our own special treats to enjoy without getting too many cavities or empty calories. Here’s a few ideas to try and lessen some of the candy intake for your kiddos (or yourself!):

Have a Halloween Buy-Back. We have a candy basket (out of reach for the kids). When they get candy, it goes in there (any time of the year). Typically, if it is out of sight-it is out of mind; he doesn’t want it because he’s forgotten about it. Occasionally I will let him pick one piece for a treat. This year, I’m going to put all of his candy into the basket. I’m also going to have  a spate basket full of other Halloween items that he can “buy” with candy. I will tell him how many pieces of candy that item costs and we will switch. Then we will likely donate the candy or take it somewhere that we know it will get eaten. Here’s what’s in the goody basket:

A Halloween movie
A Halloween book
Coloring pages
Crayons/Markers
A new board game
Some cheap Halloween toys (spider rings, fangs, etc)
Healthy fruit snacks
Homemade Halloween cookies
Homemade Halloween brownie bites

 

Have a healthy Halloween party. We like dressing up and having parties so it is fun to have a little dress up party and serve some “spooky” but healthy Halloween foods. We did this last year also with some of our family but it would be great with just the kids too. We all decorated the house together and had snacks. We also watched movies, played games, etc. They still went trick-or-treating, just not as much as most kids. Here’s some snack ideas:

Mummy pizzas (just make individual pizzas and put the toppings on to look like mummies or other Halloween characters.
Snake Calzone roll – take  a pizza crust, roll it out thin, fill with toppings, then roll up lengthwise and form so it looks like a snake. Use olives or other foods to make eyes, tongue, etc.
Pumpkin Dip – mix together canned pumpkin and yogurt to make a dip. Serve with some graham crackers and apple slices.
Pumpkin Veggie Tray – use carrots, tomatoes, broccoli to layer on a cookie sheet in the shape of a pumpkin. Serve with your favorite dip or hummus.
Easy Halloween Rice Krispies – Make traditional rice krispies, just add some orange food coloring to your marshmellows. Add some Halloween Sprinkles to your mix also.

Obviously, there are so many things you can do for a fun Halloween that doesn’t involve gorging in excess sweets and junk food. Get some ideas from your kids and just have fun as a family! My son is most excited about dressing up. He’s going to be “Spiderman”, our daughter will be “Batgirl”. He has requested that his dad be “Hulk” and I am to be “Wonder Woman”.. I’m not so sure about all of that but the things we will do for our children.