Our Favorite Paleo Friendly Dessert Recipes

We have recently switched to a more paleo friendly diet due to some health issues right around when I got pregnant with our daughter.  It was not ideal timing as I was spending my days throwing up and chasing a toddler.  Making such drastic changes to how we ate was overwhelming - especially when it came to finding dessert recipes.  I did not have the time or energy to test a bunch of recipes so I scoured the internet hard for recipes that promised to taste like full sugar gluten filled treats. 

For us we would rather eat delicious things or not eat it at all.  There are a lot of "healthy" dessert recipes out there that just aren't worth it.  So now that I have found a very promising collection of our favorite dessert recipes, I am happy to share these treasures with you today.

Paleo Chocolate Chucks - Bakerita

These super easy chocolate chunks are now what we use for anything that calls for chocolate chips.  The recipe is not difficult but I make it even easier by dumping all the ingredients in a bowl and microwaving it all at once.  I double the recipe and save the extra chocolate in the refrigerator.  The only thing I have found that they don't work for is dipping fruit.  It doesn't quite harden like I would want.  But otherwise this recipe has been great.

Maple Whipped Cream - Fool Proof Living

This recipe does call for heavy cream but it cuts out the refined sugar.  We make ours in our whipped cream dispenser.

Ultimate Gluten Free Fudge Brownies - Bakerita

We love making these for brownie sundaes.  I need to post our current ice cream recipe soon as well.  And I use the chocolate chunk recipe I shared above.

Healthy Dairy Free Hot Chocolate - Detoxinista
 
This was a well loved recipe all winter.  It is very good.  And we may add a smidge more sweetener than what it calls for.  Tis the season! ;)

Amazing Paleo Chocolate Cake - Downshiftology

This by far is the BEST recipe that I have found.  I made it for my husband's birthday and it is legit.  It does call for a few different flours which I was not super excited about.  But the work is so worth it for this amazingly decadent cake.  Definitely special occasion worthy.  It also uses the chocolate buttercream recipe below.

I did try making cupcakes with this recipe as well.  It was good but not as tasty as the layered cake.  I definitely recommend keeping it in cake form or layering the cupcakes.

Vegan Chocolate Buttercream Frosting - Downshiftology

Also amazing.  We aren't hardcore about things so I went ahead and used regular butter.  So good.

Paleo Cinnamon Rolls - Paleo Running Momma

I made these cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning and they did not disappoint.  I did put them in a pan next to each other to try to appear like traditional cinnamon rolls.  They did not turn out quite as pretty.  So they may not be instagram worthy but they are definitely delicious.

Grain-Free Dark Chocolate Cherry Scones - Nom Nom Paleo

I have tried a few cookie recipes that call for almond flour and while they taste fine, they definitely have a crumbly almond taste that just aren't cookie enough for me.  But these scones on the other hand were made for almond flour.  They are really tasty.  I used the chocolate chunks recipe linked above and used dried cranberries that we had on hand instead of the cherries. 

// I am also finding that many of my baked good recipes work well with all purpose gluten free flour as a replacement.  I am also subbing coconut sugar for regular sugar in baked goods and they turn out pretty good. 

// Non baked goods, I am using maple syrup as a sweetener and things are coming out quite well.  I tried coconut sugar a few times and it was a major fail as the coconut flavor was too prominent.

Baby Girl's First Easter Photos

We will be celebrating our first Easter this year with our sweet baby girl.

I wanted to take a few pictures with her first Easter basket like I did with our son.  And we also took her to see the Easter bunny (which our almost 3 year old wanted nothing to do with the scary bunny!).

It was so cute to see her sit up like a big girl for these photos (propped up on pillows!).  She wasn't quite tiny enough for the whole baby sleeping in a basket but not old enough to be sitting up on her own.  It was a little bit of a challenge to get a couple good pictures but I am happy with the few that we got.  Poor girl!  She was a good sport!

Here little face is too much!  Such joy this little doll is to our family (and to my dressing up a baby needs!).  Happy first Easter sweet girl.

Brother And Sister Easter Baskets

One of my favorite aspects of parenting so far has been the Easter baskets.  At Christmas time we have mis-matched stockings and come Halloween I am okay with a semi-homemade costume.  But Easter.  There is something about the personalized Easter basket that I am pretty obsessed about.

It would be embarrassing for you to know just how much time I have spent picking out the fabric pattern and color and style of embroidered name.  Then to try to have them sort of match for photos.  It is pretty ridiculous.  But like I said - I am obsessed. 

The baskets are from Pottery Barn Kids.  I chose the Natural Sabrina baskets in large.  They do change some of their liner patterns every year so our son's is no longer available.

For our almost three year old I picked up some garden tools, felt vegetables, alphabet cards, and Easter window clings from the Target dollar section.  I found Peter and Flopsy stuffed animals at TJ-Maxx for each of the kids.  And then I ordered a Berenstain Bears book, elephant hand puppet (we have a pig one that he loves), mini non-spilling bubbles, and a wooden doctor kit.

For baby girl I finally settled on a pink gingham basket with bright pink lettering after finding a blog that showed this same basket (see...I told you...some heavy research here!).  I didn't want anything too ruffly and yet all pink is still pretty girly.  But it has a timelessness to it that I like.  

I also got her the same garden tools for when she gets bigger, the Flopsy stuffed animal, Peter Rabbit board book, and Target dollar section carrots that I just thought would be cute in the basket.  The big stuffed bunny is from Pottery Barn Kids that we already had in her nursery.  And we got her a Virginia personalized rattle from Bannor Toys (our son has a California one).  I also tucked in some bunny ears that we had.  And truly she won't be playing with any of these things any time soon but it was special for me to put this first Easter basket together.

It really is a bit of a dream to spoil little ones on special holidays.  We will plan to go to church early and come home to these baskets and a low key day at home.  I am very much looking forward to it!

Happy Easter!